LIBRARY 

UNIvetiWTY  OF 
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THE 


TRICOLOR  ON  THE  ATLAS; 


OB, 


ALGERIA  AND  THE  FRENCH  CONQUEST. 


£xom  i^t  §txmmx  oi  §r.  S^agmr  sub  dl^a  ^omczB, 


FRANCIS  PULSZKY,  Esq. 


T.    NELSON    AND    SONS,    LONDON:    EDINBURGH; 

AND     NEW     YORK. 


J.OAN  STACK 


PREFACE. 


Among  the  Tourists  who  have  given  us  an  account  of  the  Regency 
of  Algeria,  the  Bavarian  naturalist,  Dr.  Moritz  Wagner,  has 
distinguished  himself  by  the  liveliness  of  his  descriptions,  the 
earnestness  of  his  researches,  and  the  frankness  with  which  he  has 
expressed  his  views.  He  remained  for  three  years  in  the  Regency, 
and  published  in  1841  an  amusing  and  instructive  account  of  his 
journey.  A  great  portion  of  his  Work  having  become  antiquated, 
I  have  condensed  his  first  volume,  translated  his  second,  added 
an  account  of  later  events,  from  the  capture  of  Constantine  to  the 
surrender  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and  given  a  general  view  of  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  French  possessions  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa 
I  have  made  careful  use  of  the  most  recent  French  works  on 
Algeria,  and  principally  of  the  official  Blue  Book,  published  by 
imperial  authority  in  1853,  under  the  title  "  Tableau  de  la  Situa- 
tion des  Etablissements  Francais  dans  TAlgerie,  1850-52." 

FEANCIS   PULSZKY. 

Mat,  1854. 


71 


CONTENTS. 
PART   I. 

BESCEIPTION  OF  THE  REGENCY  OF  ALGERIA. 

Chap.  ^'*"® 

I.— The  City  of  Algiers, '-^ 

IT.— Algerine  Life, 23 

III.— The  Neighbourhood  of  Algiers, 39 

IV. — Rassota— Reghaia— Rusgonia— Belida— Coleah, 52 

v.— ITie  Eastern  Coast  of  Algeria, 67 

VI. — The  Province  of  Constantine, 86 

VII. — Excursion  fi'om  Algiers  to  the  West, 101 


PART   II. 

THE  NATIVE  RACES  OF  THE  REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS. 

I.— The  Arabs, 1-24 

IL— The  Kabyles, 160 

III.— The  Moors, 172 

IV.— The  Turks  and  Kuniglis, 183 

v.— The  Jews, ISC 

VI.— The  Negroes, 195 

VIL— The  Mozabites, IVS 


CONTENTS. 


PART    III. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  EEGENCY  OF  ALGERIA. 

Cbap.  Page 

L— Northern  Africa,  from  the  Earliest  Epoch  to  the  Landing  of  the  Turks  in  Algeria,  204 

II.— Algeria,  from  the  Establishment  of  the  Turkish  Dominion  to  the  French  Conquest,  218 

III.— Administrations  of  Marshal  Clauzel  and  of  General  Berthezene, 232 

IV.— The  Administration  of  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  and  of  General  Voirol, 243 

v.— Administration  of  Count  Drouet  d'Erlon,  and  Second  Administration  of  Marshal 

Clauzel, 267 

VI.— The  Administration  of  General  Damre'mont,  and  the  Expedition  to  Constantine,  286 

VII.— The  Administration  of  Marshal  Valde, 349 

V'lII.— The  Administration  of  General  Bugeaud, 359 

IX.— The  Catastrophe  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and  of  his  Conquerors, 372 

X.— Eecapituliition. 383 


'IHE 


TRICOLOR  ON  THE  ATLAS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 


Amongst  the  Arabs,  Algiers  is  known  under  the  name  of  El 
Jesair,  which  means  in  Arabic  "The  Valiant."  The  city  is 
likewise  called  so  by  the  Kabyles  and  the  Negroes  of  the  in- 
terior. As  often  as  the  natives  are  asked  why  they  call  this  city 
the  "  Valiant,"  they  invariably  answer,  "  because  it  has  humbled 
the  Christians."  But  it  has  retained  the  name  to  this  day,  though 
the  Christians  have  taken  their  revenge.  We  have  corrupted  this 
appellation  into  Algiers. 

The  city  has  a  triangular  form,  and  is  situated  on  the  amphi 
theatrical  slope  of  a  hill,  rising  372  feet  above  the  sea,  which 
washes  its  foot.  The  houses  are  all  whitewashed ;  they  are  not 
surmounted  by  gable  roofs,  but  forjn  terraces ;  and  only  the  new 
buildings  have  windows  towards  the  street.  All  the  Moorish 
houses  present  a  dead  wall  towards  the  thoroughfares ;  the  city 
looks  therefore  very  strange,  and  its  aspect  from  the  sea  resem- 
bles a  gigantic  marble  quarry.  The  harbour  is  small,  scarcely 
affording  shelter  to  thirty  ships;  but  its  depth  is  sufficient  for 
middle  sized  men-of-war.      A  dyke  thrown  into   the  sea,   and 


10  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

running  for  300  feet  from  west  to  east,  protected  the  ships  against 
the  surf  of  the  sea.  The  French  have  continued  this  dyke  ever 
since  1830,  and  the  harbour  is  now  large  enough  for  the  require- 
ments of  trade.  The  population  of  Algiers — French  troops  not 
included— was  in  1839,  estimated  to  be  28,000:  9000  Moors, 
6000  Jews,  5000  natives  of  the  interior,  Arabs,  Kabyles,  Biskaris, 
and  Mozabites,  and  8000  Europeans.  It  is  therefore  by  no 
means  probable,  that  previous  to  1830,  the  number  of  inhabitants 
should  have  amounted  to  more  than  35,000,  as  the  number  of 
the  Mohammedans  who  left  the  city  since  the  conquest,  does 
not  amount  to  more  than  15,000.  In  X852,  the  census  return 
shows  for  Algiers  a  population  of  35,197  Europeans,  and  23,303 
natives. 

Algiers  consists  of  two  great  parts.  The  lower  portion  begins 
at  the  port,  and  extends  to  the  old  palace  of  the  Dey,  which  is 
situated  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  The  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  are  here  Europeans,  living  in  nice  houses.  The  three 
principal  streets  ar-e :  Marine  Street,  leading  from  the  port  to  the 
large  market-place;  Bab-a-Zun,  leading  through  the  gate  of  the 
same  name  to'  the  country  east  of  Algiers,  and  to  the  camps  of 
Mustapha  and  Kuba ;  and  the  street  Bab-el-Wad,  which  likewise 
leads  from  the  large  market-place,  in  a  western  direction,  to  the 
gate  Bab-el-Wad  {water  gate).  These  three  streets  are  the  only 
ones  where  carriages  can  pass,  being  just  wide  enough  for  two 
carriages.  Most  of  the  houses  are  new;  their  juttings  form 
vaulted  arcades,  which  cover  a  continued  row  of  neat  trottoirs, 
in  the  style  of  the  Rue  Rivoli,  in  Paris,  shielding  the  pas- 
senger from  sun  and  rain.  A  great  number  of  dark  alleys, 
which  only  allow  a  couple  of  persons  to  pass,  intersect  the 
three  principal  streets  in  all  directions ;  the  greatest  portion 
bears  French  names.  The  upper  part  of  the  town  is  dark,  angular, 
and  irregular.  The  nan-ow  streets  ascend  so  steeply,  that  every 
walk  gives  ample  opportunity  for  climbing,  most  trying  to 
elderly  people.  In  rainy  weather,  it  is  impossible  to  descend  the 
Citadel   Street,  which  leads   through  this   upper   part,  without 


THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS.  11 

incessant  stumbling  and  falling.  A  visit  to  the  elevated  por- 
tion of  Algiers,  which  is  occupied  almost  exclusively  by  natives, 
proves  at  such  times  a  serious  expedition.  Yet,  if  we  get  familiar 
with  the  climate  of  Algiers,  we  also  soon  grow  reconciled  to 
the  narrowness  of  its  streets  which  are  rarely  more  than  four 
feet  in  width.  In  summer,  when  the  sun's  rays  are  glowingly 
reflected  from  the  rocks,  and  in  winter,  when  the  floods  of  rain 
wash  the  stones,  one  always  walks  cool  and  dry  over  the  town, 
shielded  from  heat  and  wet  by  the  architecture  of  the  houses, 
as  the  upper  storeys  of  the  buildings  project  over  the  lower 
floors,  in  the  same  way,  and  even  more  than  we  see  in  the  ancient 
English  towns.  No  doubt,  this  style  makes  the  streets  dark, 
but  yields  shade  and  cover,  which  is  of  especial  benefit  in  this 
latitude  to  all  persons  inclined  to  intermittent  fevers.  All  the 
older  houses  are  built  in  the  well-known  Moorish  style;  though 
not  so  grand  as  in  the  Alhambra  and  other  ancient  Moorish 
buildings  in  Southern  Spain ;  yet,  its  form  is  attractive  and 
pleasing.  The  outside  of  these  houses  is  very  plain,  in  fact,  ia 
streets  so  narrow,  a  stately  fagade,  if  it  existed,  could  not  be 
viewed ;  besides,  they  have  only  small  grated  holes  for  windows. 
But  inside,  they  strike  by  their  architecture ;  which  is  as  comfort- 
able and  nice,  as  it  is  magnificent  and  dazzling.  A  hall  sup- 
ported by  columns  leads  to  a  stair,  the  walls  of  which  are  covered 
with  gaudy  glazed  pottery;  passing  this,  we  get  into  the  hall 
within,  a  square  usually  paved  with  marble,  and  enclosed  by 
a  colonnade  which  admits  the  light  from  above.  Another  stair 
leads  to  an  upper  colonnade,  which,  like  the  lower,  runs  all  round 
the  hall,  and  conducts  to  four  apartments.  In  wealthier  houses 
there  is  a  fountain,  or  a  basin  for  bathing,  or  a  grove  of  orange- 
trees  in  the  middle  of  the  hall,  which,  as  mentioned,  receives  the 
light  from  above;  and  as  the  Moors  had  no  glass-ceiling,  the  rain 
freely  fell  into  the  hall,  which  certainly  made  the  apartments  often 
damp.  Many  French  had  constructed' glass-roofs,  which  prevent 
this  nuisance,  yet  likewise  deprive  the  hall  of  its  airy  freshness. 
Such  is  the  construction  of  all  the  houses  in  Algiers.     The  man- 


12  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

sion  of  the  wealthy  differs  from  the  abode  of  the  poor  only  In  size, 
and  the  sumptuousness  of  the  ornamental  arrangements.  The 
floors  and  the  columns  are,  with  the  former,  commonly  of  white 
marble;  large  plates  of  gaudy  glazed  pottery  cover  the  walls  and 
passages,  and  contribute  no  less  to  the  ornament  than  to  the  cool- 
ness of  the  building.  As  to  the  rest,  the  abodes  are  all  alike 
in  their  furniture,  and  in  the  simplicity  of  implements.  Some 
carpets  or  mats  plaited  of  palm-leaves,  a  couple  of  prettily-carved, 
gaily  painted  and  gilded  chests,  often  likewise  vases  with  rose- 
water,  form  almost  the  entire  furniture  of  a  Moorish  room.  Chairs 
are  unknown  to  the  inhabitants ;  they  always  take  their  seats  on 
the  covering  of  the  floor,  crossing  their  legs.  Regular  kitchens 
are  not  to  be  found  In  the  house;  the  dishes  are  warmed  in  the 
court-yard  on  a  moveable  iron  hearth.  The  larder  contains  the 
curious  earthen  cooking  utensils,  gigantic  kegs  for  butter,  &c. 
The  houses  are  generally  kept  very  clean;  nothing  but  over- 
whelming poverty  reconciles  itself  to  filth.  Every  building  has 
only  two  storeys,  distributed  in  exactly  the  same  way ;  the  roof 
is  flat,  and  surrounded  by  a  parapet,  forming  airy  terracfes,  on 
which  the  inhabitants  used  to  walk  about  after  sunset.  The 
Moorish  ladies  likewise  show  themselves  here  In  their  magnificent 
attire,  commonly  without  veil,  but  spying  carefully  whether  any 
man's  eye  watches  them  from  the  neighbouring  terrace.  They, 
therefore,  always  carry  a  muslin  handkerchief  in  their  hand 
during  these  evening  walks.  Instantly  to  cover  their  face  if  any 
curious  look  should  be  turned  towards  them.  Nevertheless,  this 
affectation  of  modesty,  sanctified  by  the  ancient  custom  of  the 
country,  is  a  little  less  strictly  observed  by  them  towards  Euro- 
peans than  with  natives.  Not  as  if  they  felt  a  peculiar  predilec- 
tion for  us,  but  because  they  know  that  the  Christian  women  are 
allowed  to  show  themselves  before  the  eye  of  man  without  in- 
fringing the  rules  of  custom,  or  lowering  themselves  In  our  esti- 
mation. It  would  also  be  difficult  for  a  Moorish  lady — if  she 
does  not  choose  altogether  to  give  up  her  regular  exercise  on  the 
terrace — to  avoid  the  glance  of  curious  eyes,  as  many  Europeans 


THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS.  13 

live  in  the  Moorisli  part  of  the  town,  and  on  mild  evenings, 
steadily  persevei?e  in  spying  at  the  mysteries  of  the  neighbour- 
ing houses. 

The  Moorish  architecture,  if  not  as  grand  as  the  venerable 
Gothic,  or  the  classical  Greek  style  of  the  great  monuments  in 
Europe,  yet,  with  all  its  imperfections,  presents  an  attractive 
sight  by  its  general  effect,  nearly  in  the  same  way  as  the  pic- 
turesque Moorish  dress  itself.  The  pleasant  impression  on  the 
traveller  is  here  yet  heightened,  because  he  scarcely  expects  it  in 
a  city  so  lately  the  abode  of  Corsairs.  The  interior  of  several 
buildings  at  Algiers — for  instance,  the  Mansion-house  or  dwelling 
of  the  Governor,  and  the  hall  of  justice — would,  even  in  European 
capitals,  allure  those  who  delight  in  sights.  In  day-time,  when 
a  blue  dazzling  sky  forms  a  vault  over  the  colonnaded  halls, 
when  the  veins  of  the  marble  paving,  the  complicated  adornment 
of  the  porcelain  walls,  the  curiously- sculptured  columns,  the  horse- 
shoe arches,  and  the  peculiar  carving  of  the  doors,  are  lighted 
from  above  by  the  golden  rays,  then  a  Moorish  house  makes  an 
impression  similar  to  that  of  a  bird  of  the  tropical  lands  in  rich 
brightness ;  and  the  oddity  of  the  form  proves  as  little  repulsive 
to  our  eye  as  an  attractive  fairy  tale  to  the  imagination  of  children. 
There  is  nothing  mysterious  in  these  uncommon  shapes,  when 
permeated  by  a  flood  of  bright  sunshine.  We  enjoy  wandering 
about  the  galleries  with  the  solemn  gait  of  an  Easterner,  now 
resting  our  cheek  against  the  smooth  and  fresh  marble  wall,  then 
again  listening  to  the  monotonous  gurgling  of  the  f  r.ntain. 

Among  the  remarkable  buildings  of  Algiers,  nona  is  better 
known  than  the  Citadel,  the  residence  of  the  last  Dey,  which 
commands  the  whole  of  the  city,  since  it  is  the  most  elevated 
edifice  on  the  hill  on  whose  ridge  Algiers  rises.  It  is  a  very 
large  and  strong  fortress,  with  many  apartments,  courts,  and  shell- 
proof  cellars.  Yet,  as  to  beauty  and  elegance,  neither  the  castle, 
nor  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Deys,  where  the  princes  of  Algeria 
held  their  residence  up  to  1818,  are  superior  to  the  other  struc- 
tures.    Though  both  are  more  spacious  than  the  old  barracks  of 


14  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

the  janissaries,  they  by  no  means  equal  them,  or  even  some 
private  Moorish  houses,  in  wealth  and  magnificence.  From  a 
distance,  the  castle  appears  as  a  white  irregular  mass  of  buildings, 
and  it  is  only  by  the  enormous  guns  stretching  their  mouths 
through  the  loop-holes  that  we  perceive  it  to  be  a  fort.  The 
French  have  connected  it  with  the  country  by  the  erection  of 
eide-gates;  previously  it  had  only  one  exit — namely,  the  gate 
which  led  to  the  "  Citadel"  Street.  This  gate  is  lofty  enough  for 
a  man  on  horseback.  It  is  of  white  marble,  ornamented  by  an 
Arabic  inscription,  such  as  were  sculptured  over  all  the  houses 
belonging  to  the  Dey.  Formerly  a  large  wooden  cage,  filled 
with  white  doves,  was  placed  at  the  side  of  the  gate,  and  above  it 
yawned  the  mouth  of  a  very  large  gun,  threatening  the  streets  in 
case  of  riot.  Passing  the  gate,  we  are  in  sight  of  a  dark  vaulted 
passage,  where  the  water  of  a  fountain  falls  into  a  white  marble 
J^asin.  Having  passed  it,  we  perceive  two  alleys,  one  leading  to 
the  late  abode  of  Hussein-Dey,  the  other  to  the  powder  magazine, 
and  to  the  batteries  which  are  pointed  toward  the  city.  By  a 
gallery,  next  to  the  vaulted  passage,  we  get  into  an  oblong  court- 
yard, close  to  the  large  square  colonnaded  hall,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  apartments  of  the  late  Dey.  Magnificent  lemon- 
trees  stood  here  formerly,  and  a  large  fountain  spouted  the  water 
into  a  couple  of  ample  white  marble  basins.  The  gallery  at  the 
south  side  of  the  hall  is  twice  as  wide  as  the  others,  and  is  supported 
by  a  double  row  of  columns ;  it  was  used  as  the  reception  hall  by 
Hussein-Dey,  where  he  daily  saw  his  officers,  and  publicly  held 
his  court.  Along  the  walls,  benches  with  gold- embroidered 
velvet  cushions  were  placed,  on  which  the  Dey  and  the  members 
of  his  council  used  to  take  their  seats.  The  walls  were  covered 
with  porcelain,  ornamented  with  very  pretty  drawings ;  but  now 
most  of  them  are  destroyed  or  injured,  and  the  furniture  of  value — 
even  the  fine  old-fasldoned  mirrors  with  gilded  frames,  the  Eng- 
lish clocks,  the  Moorish  cushions — have  all  disappeared.  Behind 
this  gallery  were  the  apartments  of  the  Kasnaji,  or  first  minister, 
and  the  vaults  of  the  state's  treasure,  rummaged  in  1830  by  the 


THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS.  15 

cunning  treasure- seekers  of  the  Seine,  who  fully  well  understood 
how  to  resuscitate  Spanish  piastres  and  Turkish  gold  from  their 
centenary  grave.  The  cash,  amounting  to  fifty  millions  francs, 
was  locked  up  in  large  iron  boxes.  Of  the  other  treasures — 
jewels,  gold  and  silver  vases,  and  magnificent  arms — a  great 
portion  was  stolen,  and  in  Algiers  the  pilfering  is  almost  gene- 
rally imputed  to  the  most  immediate  attendants  of  General  Bour- 
mont,  yet  it  was  impossible  to  prove  this  charge.  In  the  first 
floor,  behind  the  hall,  there  are  mostly  small  rooms,  which  were 
formerly  inhabited  by  the  household  officers  of  Hussein- Dey. 
The  Prince  occupied  the  upper  storeys,  connected  with  the  first 
floor  by  a  magnificent  marble  flight  of  stairs.  In  front  of  the 
Dey's  apartments,  we  see  an  open  gallery,  with  a  view  over  the 
country  and  the  sea.  Hussein- Dey  lived  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  this  floor;  he  inhabited  four  rooms,  two  of  which  were  very 
spacious,  decorated  in  the  Oriental  taste,  but  they  contained  nothing 
remarkable.  On  the  same  side  of  the  castle,  there  are  yet  three 
other  rooms,  two  of  which  were  filled  with  splendid  arms  and  gar- 
ments' when  the  French  took  possession  of  the  city;  the  third 
room  was  the  mint.  Opposite  to  the  apartments  of  the  Dey  were 
the  rooms  of  his  wives.  Above  the  second  terrace  there  are  only 
small  rooms,  affording  a  wide  view,  spreading  over  the  city,  the 
country,  and  the  sea.  The  Dey,  never  venturing  to  leave  the 
castle,  often  used  to  walk  here,  looking  down  upon  the  city,  and 
watching  what  happened  there.  From  this  very  spot  he  saw 
likewise  the  French  fleet  approaching  the  coast,  which  was  to 
put  an  end  to  his  sway.  At  present  the  castle  is  turned  into 
barracks,  grog-shops,  and  store-houses;  the  ancient  magnificence 
has  almost  disappeared  from  the  residence  of  the  Dey,  In  1830, 
fifty  guns  of  very  heavy  calibre  were  "found  here;  they  were 
painted  green  on  the  outside,  and  their  mouths  red;  their  car- 
riages were  massive  and  immoveable.  The  greater  portion  of 
these  cannons  still  remain  here ;  some  were  carried  to  France, 
and  put  up  as  trophies  in  the  Hotel  des  Invalides. 

Previous  to  1818,  the  Deys  occupied  the  large  building  which 


16  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

forms  the  soutliern  facade  of  the  market-place.  It  is  the  highest, 
and,  next  to  the  castle,  the  most  extensive  building  of  the  city ; 
but  it  is  likewise  deprived  of  its  former  riches.  It  has  been 
turned  into  barracks  and  a  military  store-house. 

The  fortress  called  the  "  Emperor's  Fort,"  beyond  the  city,  on 
a  hill  rising  630  feet  above  the  sea,  is  built  of  bricks,  as  are  all 
the  houses  at  Algiers.  It  got  the  name  of  the  "  Emperor's  Fort" 
since  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  in  1541,  had  his  head-quarters  on 
this  hill,  and  erected  here  several  fortifications.  At  the  attack  of 
the  French  in  1830,  the  greatest  portion  of  the  fort  was  blown 
up ;  yet  the  outside  walls  remained,  and  the  barracks  in  the  inte- 
rior have  been  restored.  The  fortress  contains  two  large  vaults 
for  keeping  the  powder  stores,  and  is  defended  by  fifty  Turkish 
guns  in  very  bad  repair.  On  the  whole,  the  fortifications  of  the 
city  on  this  side  are  much  neglected,  since  an  attack  from  the 
natives  never  was  feared  by  the  French,  for  they  never  have  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  even  a  block-house ;  the  slightest  trench  defended 
by  a  few  cannons  always  proved  an  invincible  obstacle  to  the 
Arabs  as  well  as  to  the  Kabyles. 

Towards  the  sea,  Algiers  is  strongly  fortified.  In  the  year 
1816,  the  bold  Lord  Exmouth  could  yet  venture  to  sail  into  the 
port,  and  to  anchor  so  close  to  the  pier  that  his  bowsprit  almost 
touched  the  houses.  At  present,  even  a  strong  fleet  would  dearly 
pay  for  such  boldness,  as,  since  1816,  very  massive  fortifications, 
well  supplied  with  cannons,  have  been  erected  round  the  bay.  In 
the  west  stands  the  fort,  named  by  the  French,  Fort  de  Vingt- 
quatre-heures ;  in  the  east,  the  fort  Bab-a-Zun.  Other  fortifica- 
tions were  erected  all  along  the  gulf,  from  Cape  Caxines  to  Cape 
Matifu.  At  the  Cape  Caxines  there  are  the  "  Forts  de  la  Pointe 
Pescade."  Two  hours  eastward  from  Algiers,  on  a  high  plateau, 
the  camp  Kuba  is  built,  the  artillery  of  which  reaches  far  into  the 
gulf.  Then  we  find  the  fortified  "  Maison  Carree,"  and  farther 
east  we  see  the  Fort  de  I'Eau,  whose  guard  is  intrusted  to  the 
Aribes;  and  lastly,  the  Fort  Matifu,  which  is  now  quite  abandoned. 

Amongst  the  European  buildings  at  Algiers,  one  only  is  worth 


•^faw— wwnMlPpKB^     'i^. 


r 


THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS.  17 

mentioning ;  it  is  the  abode  of  Mr.  Latour  du  Pin,  a  rich  officer 
of  the  general  staff,  which  forms  the  western  fagade  of  the  large 
market-place.  The  building  cost  about  one  million  of  francs,  and 
it  would  proij^e  an  ornament  even  to  a  European  capital.  In  the 
street  Bab-a-Zun  there  is  a  new' structure,  in  half  Moorish,  half 
European  style.  It  contains  the  college,  the  library,  and  the 
Protestant  chapel,  and  owes  its  existence  to  the  excellent  Civil 
Intendant  Bresson,  an  enlightened  man  of  noble  character,  who, 
in  spite  of  the  innumerable  troubles  of  his  position,  yet  remained 
several  years  in  Algiers,  making  it  his  task  to  raise  a  new  world 
in  Africa  by  education.  He  persisted  in  his  efforts,  though,  with 
his  aptitude  for  business  and  his  oratorical  talent,  he  might  have 
expected  a  much  more  brilliant  career  in  France.  The  exterior 
of  the  building  which  he  founded  is  somewhat  gaudy,  and  not  in 
the  best  taste,  but  nothing  has  been  spared  for  its  interior  arrange- 
ment and  comfort.  The  college  has  separate  halls  for  every  class 
of  scholars,  who  are  taught  both  in  French  and  in  Arabic.  Chil- 
dren of  the  most  different  nations — Germans,  Spaniards,  Moors, 
and  Negroes — here  write  their  exercises  in  common  with  Parisian 
boys.  The  library  comprises  two  large  halls,  ornamented  with 
marble.  It  contains  many  Arabic  manuscripts,  some  of  them 
captured  in  the  house  of  Ben-Aissa,  and  in  the  different  mosques 
of  Constantine. 

Previous  to  the  French  conquest,  Algiers  had  ten  large  and 
fifty  small  mosques.  Now  these  are  reduced  to  one-half  of  the 
number.  Many  have  been  pulled  down  to  enlarge  the  streets,  or 
to  make  room  for  houses.  This  was  likewise  the  fate  of  the  most 
splendid  temple  of  Algiers,  which  stood  on  the  market-place. 
The  ornamental  portions  of  it,  particularl}'-  the  white  marble 
columns,  were  partly  preserved,  and  used  for  the  improvement  of 
the  large  mosque  in  the  Rue  de  la  Marine.  One  of  the  mosques 
has  been  turned  into  a  theatre,  another  became  a  store-house  for 
hay,  a  third  is  a  barrack.  The  French  government  has  been 
often  accused  of  bad  policy  for  such  wanton  desecration  of  the 
Mohammedan  houses  of  worship,  and  certainly  this  was  one  of 


18  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

the  measures  which  the  natives  could  least  forget  or  pardon  in 
their  new  rulers.  But,  on  the  other  side,  the  number  of  mosques 
was  much  too  large  for  the  population.  The  Turks  li^ere  banished 
from  the  city;  many  Moors  emigrated  to  the  East  or  other 
parts  of  Barbary;  and  the  number  of  those  anxious  to  visit  the 
mosques  decreased  daily,  whilst  the  armj^  and  the  first  settlers 
were  in  great  want  of  convenient  shelter.  Store-houses,  barracks, 
hospitals,  had  to  be  established,  and  private  persons,  of  course, 
could  not  be  turned  out  of  their  houses.  The  government,  there- 
fore, may  certainly  find  excuses  for  their  severely-censured  mea- 
sures, though  we  cannot  but  regret  that,  by  this  violation  of 
religious  feelings,  so  many  natives  have  been  estranged  from  the 
new  lords  of  the  country. 

The  finest  work  of  architecture  undertaken  by  the  French 
government  was  the  restoration  of  a  large  mosque  in  the  Rue  de 
la  Marine,  for  which  the  Duke  of  Nemours  laid  the  eorner-stone 
in  1836.  All  the  columns  and  marble  ornaments  which  had  been 
preserved  from  the  buildings  pulled  down  were  lavished  on  this 
structure,  which  exhibits  now  a  long  fayade  of  white  marble 
columns.  But  the  interior  is  not  grand.  A  long  portico,  not 
above  twenty-five  feet  high,  surrounds  several  courts,  where 
colossal  orange-trees  and  cypresses  protect  a  marble  basin  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun  by  the  screen  of  their  unfading  green  leaves. 
At  this  fountain  the  pious  Mohammedans  wash  their  hands,  feet, 
and  faces,  with  the  utmost  care,  whenever  they  step  in  or  out. 
The  floor  of  the  temple  is  covered  with  velvet  carpets  of  different 
colours,  richer  around  the  sanctuary,  which  consists  of  an  arched 
niche,  in  which  the  Mufti,  Imam,  or  Marabut,  says  the  prayer. 
Since  the  French  rule  in  Algiers,  the  entrance  into  the  mosques  is 
no  longer  prohibited  to  Christians;  they  only  must,  like  the  Mo- 
hammedans, take  off  their  shoes  before  the  gate — the  sacred  carpet 
may  only  be  trodden  by  bare  feet.  Previous  to  1830,  every  Chris- 
tian who  entered  a  mosque  was  punished  with  death,  and  the  floor 
of  the  mosque  had  to  be  carefully  washed,  and  the  walls  freshly 
painted;  for  they  were  deemed  to  have  been  desecrated  by  the  pre- 


THE  CITY  OP  ALGIERS.  19 

sence  of  a  Christian.  But  now  the  Mohammedans  in  the  seaport 
towns  of  Algeria  have  grown  accustomed  to  see  Frenchmen  in 
their  temples.  A  closer  acquaintance  with  the  infidels,  under  cir- 
cumstances totally  diiBferent  from  before,  has  greatly  conciliated 
them  to  their  antagonists  in  faith,  and  they  do  not  now  consider 
the  presence  of  Christians  as  desecrating  their  places  of  worship. 
The  calm  and  freshness  pervading  the  wide  colonnades  of  the 
large  mosque  make  it  a  most  attractive  place  of  refuge  during  the 
hot  months.  I  often  remained  there  for  hours,  leaning  against  a 
column,  and  watching  the  single  worshippers  at  day-time,  or 
their  more  numerous  groups  at  the  evening  prayers.  There  were 
among  them  most  interesting  countenances — many  an  old,  melan- 
choly, silver-haired  Moor,  longing  for  the  promised  blessings 
beyond  this  world;  beside  him  sat  his  grandchild,  a  pretty  rosy- 
cheeked  boy,  in  whose  heart,  to  tell  by  his  appearance,  fanaticism 
had  not  yet  sprung  up.  Then  again,  it  was  so  pleasant  to  wander 
about  in  the  interior  courts,  under  the  orange-trees,  and  to  indulge 
in  dreamy  thoughts  at  the  rippling  fountain.  Every  IMohammedan 
place  of  worship  has  a  slender  minaret,  commonly  of  a  rectangular 
form,  the  summit  of  which  is  adorned  by  the  crescent.  On  its  top 
the  tower  is  surrounded  by  a  gallery,  from  whence  the  Muezzin 
calls  the  faithful  to  prayer.  A  wooden  pole  rises  above  that 
gallery,  on  which  a  white  flag  is  reared  as  the  signal  for  prayers. 
Another  handsome  mosque  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the  Rue 
de  la  Marine,  on  the  large  place.  It  is  painted  shiningly  white, 
much  nicer  and  cleaner  than  any  other  building.  A  cupola  rises 
above  the  terrace,  and  above  the  cupola  a  minaret,  covered  with 
slabs  of  porcelain  of  curious  form  and  design.  A  third  remark- 
able mosque  stands  in  the  Rue  de  la  Porte  Neuve,  not  distinguished 
by  size,  but  by  a  pomp  and  elegance  in  its  interior  far  superior 
to  all  the  other  buildings.  Its  form  is  almost  round.  An  artisti- 
cally worked  column  supports  the  cupola,  the  vault  of  which  is 
decorated  with  golden  ornaments  and  slabs  of  porcelain.  The 
side  of  the  holy  niche,  the  place  of  the  Imam,  is  ornamented  by  a 
pulpit  of  white  marble.     The  balustrade  of  the  pulpit- stairs,  and 


20  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

the  marble  canopy  above  the  preacher,  are  of  the  most  exquisite 
workmanship,  but  they  probably  were  worked  by  Italians. 

Close  to  the  gate  Bab-a-Zun,  stands  a  very  small  mosque, 
rarely  opened;  but  its  splendour  is  to  be  perceived  through  a 
grated  air-hole.  AVhilst  in  most  of  the  mosques  magnificence  is 
displayed  in  the  marble  floors  only,  and  the  walls  are  white  and 
bare, — in  that  small  mosque,  the  w^alls,  ceiling,  and  floors,  are  all 
richly  decorated  with  velvet,  and  silk  interwoven  with  gold. 
Above  the  niche,  verses  of  the  Koran  are  sculptured  with  orna- 
mental letters.  In  the  niche  itself  stands  a  kind  of  altar  of  marble, 
almost  bearing  the  form  of  a  sarcophagus,  covered  with  a  quantity 
of  flags,  which  are  heavy  with  resplendent  embroideries  and  of 
curious  forms;  it  is  the  monument  of  the  most  celebrated  Prince 
of  this  Corsair  republic,  Hayraddin  Barbarossa,  who  defeated  the 
expedition  of  Charles  V.,  in  1541. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  cathedral  of  Algiers,  was 
formerly  a  mosque.  It  is  situated  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Divan 
Street ;  and  though  not  larger  than  the  two  mosques  in  the  Rue 
de  la  Marine,  its  style  of  building  is  much  purer  and  grander. 
Even  the  finest  of  the  mosques  are  adorned  only  with  low  co- 
lonnades; but  in  the  cathedral,  columns  of  fifty  feet  support  the 
cupola,  which  gets  its  light  from  above  through  stained  glass. 
The  altar  is  on  the  north  side,  decorated  by  a  picture  of  the 
Virgin,  which  has  been  bestowed  on  this  church  by  the  Pope; 
nevertheless  above  the  picture  we  still  see  the  sentences  of  the 
Koran  in  interlaced  Arabic  characters,  proclaiming  that  there 
is  only  one  God  and  Mohammed  his  Prophet.  That  these  sen- 
tences, though  they  form  a  most  elegant  ornament  of  arabesques, 
should  be  allowed  to  remain  in  a  Christian  temple  is  rather 
strange ;  in  fact,  not  only  are  they  shocking  to  the  Christian, 
but  the  Mohammedan  also  would  rather  see  them  effaced  than 
placed  above  the  image  of  a  deified  female.  And  yet  more 
strange  than  the  interior  arrangement,  appeared  to  me  the  service 
and  the  assembly  in  the  cathedral ;  which  indeed  was  composed 
of  the  most  incongruous  elements.     The  mass  is  here  almost  a 


THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS.  21 

military  spectacle  ;  the  soldiers  are  drilled  for  it.  A  gay  martial 
music  resounds  in  the  building  whilst  the  priest  mumbles  his 
Latin  formulas;  the  noise  of  twenty  drums  thunders  through  the 
hall  as  soon  as  the  sacristan  rings  the  bell;  the  soldiers  standing 
in  a  square  before  the  altar,  present  the  musket  at  the  command 
of  their  officer,  and  bend,  at  the  same  time,  their  right  knee,  and 
bow  their  heads  to  the  ground,  whilst  the  thundering  march  of  the 
drums  lasts  until  the  priest  has  finished  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Then 
the  regimental  music  plays  pieces  of  Auber's  and  Meyerbeer's 
Operas;  the  priest  raises  the  host  and  presents  it  to  the  congrega- 
don,  amongst  which  some  people  have  prayed,  many  have 
listened  to  the  music,  others  again  have  turned  their  attention  to 
the  pious  young  Spanish  ladies;  and  now, — all  are  talking  and 
walking  about  the  wide  hall  as  if  it  were  a  public  promenade. 
,  The  Protestant  hall  of  worship  is  in  the  New  Library  building, 
a  plain  apartment,  where  a  chair  stands  for  the  pulpit,  and  a  table 
for  the  altar.  Every  Sunday  evening  the  "usual  service  of  the 
Calvinist  Church  is  held  here ;  song,  sermon,  and  once  a  month 
the  communion.  Whilst  I  was  at  Algiers  two  Protestant  clergy- 
men were  there,  who,  at  the  same  time,  had  the  spiritual  care  of 
the  country  people,  especially  of  the  Germans,  in  the  village  Deli 
Ibrahim,  many  of  whom  had  emigrated  from  Wurtemberg.  In 
spite  of  the  religious  indifference  predominant  in  Algiers,  the 
Protestant  service  was  always  numerously  attended;  and  in  this 
congregation,  partly  composed  of  Roman  Catholics,  I  always 
noticed  pious  devotion  and  respectful  silence. 

The  eight  synagogues  here,  stand  all  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
town.  Their  architecture  much  resembles  that  of  the  mosques, 
with  the  exception  of  the  minarets,  and  of  the  interior  courts  with 
fountains,  which  are  wanting  in  the  synagogues.  Through  a  ves- 
tibule, in  some  of  them  very  spacious,  we  entered  a  hall  of  square 
or  oblong  form,  covered  with  carpets,  or  more  commonly  with 
mats;  the  walls  are  ornamented  with  porcelain.  In  the  centre  is 
a  pulpit,  adorned  by  different  colours,  sometimes  by  carvings. 
The  text  of  the  Old  Testament,  written  on  rolled  parchment,  is 


22  THE  CITY  OF  ALGIERS. 

kept  in  side-boards  ornamented  with  great  costliness.     At  even- 
ing service  candles  are  lighted. 

There  were  about  one  hundred  Mohammedan  schools  in  Al- 
giers before  the  occupation  of  the  French;  at  present  half  the 
number  is  closed.  The  boys  are  taught  to  read  the  Koran,  to 
write,  and  a  little  arithmetic.  In  this  consists  the  whole  Moham- 
medan instruction  at  Algiers.  Most  of  the  schools  are  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  city,  in  the  Citadel  Street.  The  classes  are 
held  in  very  small  apartments,  which  are  open  during  the  lessons, 
so  that  everything  going  on  is  to  be  seen  and  heard  from  the 
street.  The  floor  is  covered  with  mats,  on  which  the  scholars  sit 
barefooted  with  crossed  legs.  The  schoolmaster  stands  in  the 
centre  with  the  stick  in  his  hand.  The  scholars  have  pens 
carved  of  reed,  and  wooden  tables  on  which  they  inscribe  sen- 
tences of  the  Koran  dictated  by  the  teacher.  One  after  the  other, 
glides  on  his  knees  to  the  schoolmaster  and  shows  his  ecrawl; 
then  they  all  read  it  together.  A  great  deal  of  noise  is  going  on 
in  these  schools;  but  the  schoolmaster  never  for  one  moment 
loses  his  patience,  or  his  dignified  demeanour,  and  but  very 
seldom  uses  the  stick.  On  the  whole,  the  scholars  show  much 
attention  and  zeal ;  the  noise  created  by  the  singing  and  declama- 
tion of  the  sentences  they  have  learnt,  diverts  their  attention  as 
little  as  the  transactions  in  the  street,  or  the  presence  of  an  audi- 
ence. A  pleasant  relation  and  mutual  confidence  subsists  be- 
tween the  schoolmaster  and  the  scholars.  The  teacher  very 
rarely  displays  severity,  and  then  the  pupil  is  commonly  so  deeply 
afflicted  with  sorrow,  that  the  schoolmaster  has  to  appease  him 
by  kind  words.  There  are  seldom  more  than  twelve  pupils  in  one 
school.  The  common  price  for  every  scholar  is  four  rabbia — 
boojoos  (one  shilling  and  four  pence)  a  month.  Commonly  the 
young  Moors  leave  school  in  their  fourteenth  year,  but  the 
friendly  relation  between  the  teacher  and  his  former  pupils  con- 
tinues, and  the  old  preceptor  rarely  fails  to  appear  at  the  nuptials 
of  the  grown-vp  scholar. 


ALGERINE  LIFE.  23 

CHAPTEK  11. 

ALGERINE     LIFE. 

The  different  religious  communities  have  in  Algiers  different 
courts  of  justice.  "  The  Tribunal  Superieur"  consisted  at  the 
time  of  my  stay,  of  a  chairman  and  five  judges,  amongst  whom 
was  one  Jew,  and  one  Mohammedan.  According  to  a  later 
ordonnance,  it  had  been  reduced  to  three  members,  the  president 
and  two  judges.  It  decides  all  civil  suits  (except  commercial 
matters,  which  belong  to  the  Tribunal  de  Commerce) ;  and  besides, 
every  difference  between  a  Christian,  or  Jew,  and  a  Mussulman,  is 
decided  there.  Misdemeanours  or  law- suits  amongst  Mohamme- 
dans come  before  the  Kadi;  differences  of  Jews  before  the  chief  of 
the  Jewish  nation.  The  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
Laurence,  has  considerable  merit  in  respect  to  the  administration 
of  justice  in  Algiers.  He  thoroughly  investigated  the  complicated 
relations,  and  appreciated  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  hasty  and 
subversive  reforms  in  the  laws  of  the  natives,  with  whom  so  many 
religious  prejudices  were  to  be  considered,  which,  though  often 
strange  and  ridiculous,  are  yet  deeply- rooted,  and  had  grown 
almost  sacred  by  their  antiquity.  The  French  code  has,  therefore, 
not  been  introduced  among  the  natives;  Mr.  Laurence  himself 
attended  the  inauguration  of  the  new  system,  which  had  been 
planned  almost  entirely  according  to  his  views;  and  he  had  its 
details  completed  with  great  sagacity,  so  that  it  met  with  universal 
applause  among  all  classes,  and  persons  of  the  most  different 
creed,  mainly  on  account  of  the  wise  forbearance  toward  the 
ancient  institutions  and  customs. 

The  building  of  the  court  of  justice  is  situated  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  town,  in  the  Rue  de  I'etat  Major.  The  sessions  are 
held  in  the  court-yard  of  the  interior  colonnade;  the  Moorish 
arrangement  of  the  houses  being  uncommonly  well-adapted  to  this 
aim,  so  much  so  that  this  architecture  should  be  recommended  for 


24  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

all  the  courts  of  justice  In  Europe.  The  audience  finds  ample 
room  In  the  galleries,  the  square  of  the  hall  being  occupied  by  the 
judges,  solicitors,  witnesses,  the  beadles  (hulssler)  and  inter- 
preters. The  loftiness  of  the  hall.  Its  fine  adornment  with  porce- 
lain and  marble,  and  the  magic  light  admitted  from  above,  power- 
fully contribute  to  enhance  the  solemnity  of  the  public  courts. 
Many  Interesting  suits  happened  during  my  stay,  often  raised  by 
ludicrous  Incidents,  since  men  of  the  most  different  nations  of 
Europe  and  Africa  appeared  as  plalntifi's  and  witnesses,  whose 
evidence  and  answers  were  often  misconstrued  in  the  most  curious 
way  by  translation.  With  Important  suits  the  sessions  of  the  court 
not  seldom  last  till  late  at  night ;  the  galleries  are,  at  such  times, 
thronged  by  Europeans  and  natives,  and  in  the  vestibule,  or  at  the 
door  of  the  court  of  justice,  we  see  likewise  many  veiled  Moorish 
women,  whose  dark  eyes  brilliantly  glisten  through  the  muslin  co- 
vering, and  who  watch  the  Issue  of  the  suit  with  Intense  curiosity. 
The  court-martial  holds  its  sessions  In  a  small  by-^treet,  not 
far  froi|j  the  gate  Bab-a-Zun.  It  is  almost  permanently  assem- 
bled, as.  In  consequence  of  the  system  by  which  the  felons  of  the 
European  army  of  France  are  transported  to  Africa  and  formed 
into  battalions,  crimes  are  frequent.  The  court-martial  consists 
of  seven  officers,  presided  over  by  a  colonel,  nearly  always  some 
brave  officer,  bowed  by  age  and  wounds,  and  therefore  little 
adapted  for  difficult  expeditions  Into  the  Interior  of  the  country. 
He  presides  with  great  dignity,  and  is  strictly  severe,  well  aware 
of  the  character  of  the  culprits.  The  most  common  crime  in  the 
French-African  army  is  the  sale  of  military  accoutrement  and 
ammunition.  The  temptation  to  drown  the  hardships  of  camp- 
life  in  wine,  so  as  to  become  unconscious  of  them  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  proves  so  irresistible  to  many,  that  even  the  certainty  of 
becoming  still  more  wretched,  and  to  pay  for  the  short  indulgence 
with  a  year  of  forced  labour,  does  not  deter  them  from  selling 
their  military  accoutrement,  and  even  their  ammunition  and  arms 
to  the  sutlers  or  the  Jews  of  the  town.  Almost  every  Sunday 
we  saw  soldiers  degraded  before  the  garrison  on  the  large  market- 


ALGKKINE  LIFE.  25 

place,  from  whence  they  are  taken  to  forced  labour  in  the  grey- 
attire  of  felons.  Even  executions  were  not  rare,  and  took  place 
almost  every  week,  during  the  rule  of  the  stern  Duke  of  Rovigo. 
An  interesting  case  which  I  witnessed  before  the  court-martial  of 
Algiers,  was  that  of  the  deserter  Moncel,  a  man  of  remarkable 
energy  of  character,  whose  fate  aroused  sympathy.  He  had 
served  as  private  among  the  Spahis,  after  he  had  lost  his  grade 
as  non-commissioned  officer,  in  consequence  of  his  unruly  disposi- 
tion. One  day  he  had  a  dispute  with  his  lieutenant,  and  the 
latter  turned  him  out  with  a  kick.  Moncel  swore  to  take  revenge. 
He  fled  in  company  with  a  native  Spahi,  equally  weary  of  dis- 
cipline, to  the  Hajutes,  where  he  met  with  a  friendly  reception. 
The  unsettled  life  well  suited  his  adventurous  spirit,  and  the  Arabs 
had  acquired  in  him  a  bold  leader  for  all  their  piratical  excur- 
sions to  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers.  Moncel  took  an  Arab 
wife,  became  Sheikh  of  an  encampment,  and  stood  in  high  con- 
sideration with  Abd-el-Kader,  for  whom  he  repeatedly  fought 
bravely.  The  Emir  sent  him  even  on  a  mission  to  the  Emperor 
of  Morocco,  who  at  that  time  paid  an  ample  subsidy  to  the  Arab 
chief.  Moncel,  on  his  return,  again  lived  with  the  Hajutes,  they 
being  his  adopted  tribe,  to  which  he  clung  with  great  attachment. 
In  November,  1836,  the  same  squadron  of  Spahis,  in  which  the 
adventurer  had  served,  made  an  excursion  to  the  Shiffa.  A  great 
number  of  Hajutes  waited  for  them  in  an  ambuscade,  and  Moncel 
hailed  this  opportunity  of  revenge  with  eagerness.  The  Spahis 
suddenly  saw  themselves  surrounded  by  an  enemy  three  times 
superior,  and  in  the  affray  Moncel  fell  in  with  the  very  identical 
officer,  who  formerly  had  ill-treated  him.  Lieutenant  Goert  was 
killed,  twenty  Spahis  remained  on  the  field,  the  others  escaped. 
Whilst  the  Hajutes  plundered  the  corpses,  and  dreadfully  muti- 
lated them  according  to  their  w^ont,  Moncel  cut  the  words,  "  Mon- 
cel 1836,"  on  the  corpse  of  his  former  superior  with  his  dagger. 
The  mutilated  corpses  were  found  by  the  French,  and  roused  their 
thirst  for  revenge ;  but  all  attempts  failed  to  get  Moncel  into  a 
trap.     A  year  later,  however,  he  was  captured  on  the  market  El- 


26  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

Arba,  in  the  territory  of  tlie  tribe  Beni  Musa,  by  an  officer  of  the 
Bureau  Arabe,  who  had,  in  disguise,  ventured  to  the  fair  with  a 
number  of  Spahis.  The  case  created  the  greatest  sensation.  The 
access  to  the  narrow  by-street  Bab-a-Zun,  was  quite  blockaded 
by  French  people  and  natives,  who  took  almost  yet  more  lively 
interest  in  the  trial,  since  Moncel  had  become  their  co-religionist. 
In  former  days  already  when  he  served  in  the  infantry,  he  had 
been  well  known  as  a  first  rate  "  blagueur;"  he  used  to  amuse 
his  comrades  at  the  camp-fire  with  all  kind  of  adventurous  tales 
of  his  own  life  and  imagination.  His  stay  among  the  Arabs, 
where  he  had  adopted  the  energetic  and  richly  coloured  language 
of  the  country,  had  yet  more  developed  his  remarkable  oratorical 
talent.  He  stood  before  the  court-martial  in  the  Arab  garb,  ap- 
pearing rather  like  a  Marabut  than  as  an  accused  culprit.  His 
language,  describing  the  unworthy  treatment  he  had  met  from  his 
superior,  was  impressed  with  such  vigour  and  dignity,  that  it 
created  the  greatest  sympathy  in  his  audience.  The  slain  Lieu- 
tenant Goert  was  forgotten,  and  a  general  outcry  was  heard — 
"  Pardon,  pardon,  for  Moncel."  Every  other  court  most  likely 
would  have  admitted  mitigating  circumstances,  but  the  judges  of 
Moncel  were  all  stern  disciplinarians,  grown  old  in  service,  who, 
though  perhaps  moved  themselves,  knew  how  to  conquer  any  feel- 
ing of  compassion.  Colonel  Schauenburg  led  the  debate  in  his  own 
hard  and  vigorous  way,  and  the  "  rapporteur"  directed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  judges  to  the  necessity  of  giving  a  warning  example 
to  all  the  "  mauvaises  t^tes"  of  the  army.  These  reasons  pre- 
vailed; Moncel  was  sentenced  to  death,  and  shot  before  the  gate 
Bab-el- Wad.  His  death  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  natives, 
as  well  as  upon  the  soldiers  of  the  corps  in  which  he  had  served, 
and  whom  he  had  exhorted,  even  in  the  moment  preceding  his 
death,  never  to  submit  to  ill  treatment.  His  friends,  the  Hajutes, 
swore  to  avenge  his  death,  as  if  he  had  been  a  Marabut.  They  kept 
this  oath  faithfully ;  and  all  the  murders  which  had  been  averted  for 
a  while  by  the  peace  at  the  Tafna,  but  which,  towards  the  close  of 
il837,  spread  again  with   renewed   terror,  were   committed  on 


ALGERINE  LIFE.  27 

account  of  the  executed  renegade,  whose  death  the  Arabs  did  not 
forgive  to  General  Damremont,  as  little  as  they  ever  forgave  the 
execution  of  El-Arbi-ben-Mussa,  which  had  taken  place  under  the 
Duke  of  Rovigo. 

Near  to  the  street  Bab-el-Wad  is  the  Mohammedan  court  of 
justice,  as  public  as  the  French  "  Tribunal  Superieur,"  and  no 
less  dignified.  The  Kadi-Maleki  is  in  Algiers  the  most  powerful 
and  the  most  respected  civil  officer  of  the  Mussulmans,  as  the 
Mufti  El-Hanefi  is  the  most  important  of  their  priests.  At  the 
period  of  my  stay  it  was  Sidi-Hamet-ben-Jadun  who  filled  this 
,  office,  a  mild  and  calm  old  man,  who  possessed  the  oriental  dig- 
nity, in  the  highest  degree,  that  majesty  of  a  prophet  so  strikingly 
impressive  with  noble  manliness,  and  attractively  set  forth  by  the 
picturesque  costume.  The  Kadi-Maleki  holds  his  judiciary  ses- 
sions in  a  single  apartment  adorned  by  carpets  only.  He  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  other  Moors  by  the  high  and  ample  turban, 
plaited  in  many  regular  folds,  which  is  likewise  the  costume 
of  his  clerks.  The  same  style  of  turban  is  the  attribute  of  the 
Mohammedan  priests  of  every  kind  in  the  cities,  and  of  the 
Imams,  Talebs  (doctor)  and  Marabuts  (saints)  in  the  country. 
The  Kadi  occupies  a  raised  seat  at  the  head  of  an  oval  table, 
before  him  lies  the  open  Koran  bound  in  gold.  To  his  right  and 
left,  at  the  same  table,  sit  the  Khojas  (clerks),  who  pen  every  case, 
write  all  the  documents  of  sales  or  other  transactions,  and  who 
sometimes,  in  questions  of  importance,  whisper  their  advice  to  the 
Kadi.  There  are  twelve  of  those  Khojas  at  Algiers,  but  they 
relieve  one  another  in  their  lucrative  functions.  Most  of  them  are 
fine  men,  with  splendid  beards ;  some  with  grey  hair  and  wrinkled 
countenance,  others  manly  and  vigorous  with  glistening  eyes  and 
raven  hair.  The  plaintiff  and  defendant,  led  by  Shaushs  (beadles), 
advance  to  the  end  of  the  table,  opposite  to  the  Kadi.  If  there 
are  women  among  the  plaintiffs,  they  are  not  admitted  to  the  jus- 
tice hall,  but  they  state  their  case  to  the  Kadi,  whilst  remaining 
in  the  yard,  and  addressing  him  through  a  grated  window.  The 
law-suits  are  very  amusing,  even  for  those  who  have  but  scanty 


28  ALGEEINE  LIFE. 

or  no  knowledge  of  the  Arabic,  especially  if  women  are  the  plain- 
tiffs. Their  volubility,  well  supported  by  their  animated  gesticu- 
lations, is  most  striking,  in  contrast  with  the  never-to-be-disturbed 
calmness  of  the  Kadi,  who  listens  to  the  protracted  and  passion- 
ate disputes  of  the  plaintiff  and  defendant,  without  evincing  the 
slightest  impatience  either  by  movements  or  expression  of  counte- 
nance. No  quarrel  can  affect  the  dignified  deportment  of  the 
Kadi.  With  bowed  head,  calmly,  thoughtfully,  he  listens  to  the 
shrill  voices;  then  occasionally  puts  a  question,  takes  the  evi- 
dence of  the  witnesses,  if  there  are  any,  and  at  last  pronounces 
his  sentence  with  the  same  well-calculated  and  measured  dignity. 
His  judgment  is  always  accepted  without  appeal,  and  with 
humble  resignation,  and  both  parties  kiss  his  hands  both  before 
and  after  the  trial.  The  sentence  is  commonly  immediately 
executed.  The  bastinado  on  the  soles  is  the  most  frequent 
punishment  of  culprits,  and  is  preferred  by  them  to  prison.  It 
does  credit  to  the  French  government,  that  it  has  attempted  to 
abolish  this  barbarous  mode  of  punishment.  But  the  measure  did 
not  meet  with  any  sympathy,  thanks,  or  support  with  the  natives. 
Of  course  it  could  not  be  carried  against  the  inclination  of  the 
parties  concerned,  though  reasonable  remonstrances  were  not 
spared;  but  they  were  all  in  vain.  The  humane  aim  was  not 
appreciated.  The  French,  with  whom,  among  all  the  nations  of 
Europe,  the  feeling  for  the  dignity  of  man  is  most  deeply  rooted 
and  most  vigorously  developed,  are  roused  to  indignation  by  the 
very  idea  of  corporal  punishment,  and  such  a  sentiment  is  always 
the  sign  of  the  culture  of  a  people.  But  barbarians  consider  the 
physical  pain  alone  in  this  mode  of  punishment,  and  if  this  has 
been  endured,  it  leaves  no  moral  impression,  no  feeling  of  dis- 
honour. Every  disgraced  officer  and  minister  of  the  state  had  to 
submit  to  blows  under  the  rule  of  the  Deys;  he  then  quietly  again 
retired  into  private  life,  enjoyed  his  existence  and  was  personally 
looked  up  to  as  before,  no  dishonour  sticking  to  him  for  having 
been  bastinadoed.  Prison  is  more  formidable  to  the  Arab,  since 
he  is  taken  from  his  family,  disabled  from  bestowing  his  care  on 


ALGERINE  LIFE.  29 

its  members,  prevented  from  watching  and  praj-ing  in  his  mosque, 
and  altogether,  because  this  mode  of  punishment  is  not  familiar  to 
his  ideas.  Fines  are  perhaps  yet  more  dreaded  by  the  natives, 
avaricious  as  they  are ;  they  rather  sacrifice  their  limbs  than  their 
duros  and  sultanis  (silver  and  gold  coins).  Even  the  most 
creditable  reforms,  proposed  by  Mr.  Laurence  in  this  line,  were 
rejected  with  a  kind  of  horror.  Not  one  single  voice  applauded 
his  advice  of  abolishing  the  bastinado,  therefore  the  French 
government  did  wisely  not  to  insist  upon  doing  away  with  the 
ancient  institution  of  its  Mohammedan  subjects. 

There  are  several  large  bazaars  at  Algiers,  where  the  foreign 
merchants  exhibit  their  wares.  But  one  must  not  fancy  to  meet  here 
with  the  magnificent  ancient  bazaars  of  Bagdad  or  Delhi,  studded 
with  the  rich  produce  and  manufactures  of  the  East,  such  as  the}'' 
are  described  by  the  accounts  of  Arabian  writers.  Even  beside 
the  bazaars  of  Smyrna  or  Constantinople,  which  are  yet  far  from 
conveying  a  high  notion  of  Asiatic  splendour,  the  bazaars  of 
Algiers  would  appear  poor  enough.  They  consist  in  extensive 
buildings,  constructed  in  the  Moorish  style.  Every  bazaar  has 
two  or  three  storeys,  and  contains  as  many  rooms  as  the  space  will 
allow.  Formerly,  whenever  a  foreign  merchant,  Mussulman,  or 
Jew,  had  got  permission  to  put  up  his  quarters  at  Algiers,  he 
used  to  rent  one  or  more  rooms  at  the  bazaar,  where  he  exhibited 
his  wares  at  the  doors.  He  never  failed  here  of  numerous  visitors, 
who,  in  fact,  were  oftener  gazers  than  buyers,  because  trade  was 
as  little  flourishing  in  Algiers  as  in  the  other  states  of  Barbary. 
In  these  countries,  where  to  be  considered  rich  was  almost  equi- 
valent to  a  sentence  of  death,  the  circulation  of  money  must  have 
been,  of  course,  very  scanty. 

There  were  formerly  bazaars  at  Algiers  which  had  more  than 
forty  apartments.  The  greater  portion,  and  the  most  remarkable 
of  tliem,  hav^e  been  demolished,  and  storehouses  and  shops  of 
European  traders  have  risen  in  their  stead,  taking  the  Paris 
fashions  for  their  standard.  We  see  now  here  as  smart  shops  as 
in  any  European  cit}^  of  second  rank,  for  instance  in  Toulon  and 


30  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

Nice.  The  stalls  of  the  natives  are  small  and  shabby,  but 
interesting  for  a  European  by  the  curious  forms,  if  not  also  by 
the  variety  of  objects.  These  stalls  are  sometimes  little  better 
than  square  holes,  closed  at  night  by  a  clumsy  wooden  shutter. 
In  the  Divan  Street  alone,  there  are  some  richer  shops,  in  which 
wares  are  exhibited  with  taste,  nicety,  and  symmetry.  Most  of 
the  shopkeepers  to  whom  they  belong  are  Kuruglis.*  Their 
articles  consist  in  gold  embroideries,  slippers,  pocket-books,  &c., 
mostly  of  red  and  green  velvet,  which  usually  captivate  the  eye, 
more  by  peculiar  finery  than  by  tasteful  beauty ;  further,  in  per- 
fumes of  roses  and  jasmin,  in  home-made  silks  woven  with  great 
neatness,  but  which  cannot  compete  with  our  silk  manufactures, 
neither  in  style,  nor  as  to  the  prices.  Many  objects  woven  of 
aloe-fibres,  bags,  shoes  for  children  &c.,  are  more  remarkable  for 
the  raiity  of  the  material  than  for  their  magnificence.  The  pro- 
prietors of  these  shops,  Kuruglis  and  Turks,  are  often  very 
wealthy,  and  buy  up  the  articles  manufactured  by  gold  embroi- 
derers and  Moorish  women.  The  export  of  these  wares  to  Europe 
is  not  unimportant,  as  no  French  soldier,  or  any  other  traveller 
ever  sails  from  hence  to  Toulon,  without  bringing  some  African 
keepsakes  home  to  his  friends. 

Among  the  places  which  I  recommend  every  tourist  to  visit  at 
Algiers,  I  must  especially  mention  the  Moorish  coffee-houses,  of 
which,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  alone,  there  are  above  sixty. 
I  spent  an  hour  there  almost  every  evening,  and  T  seldom  regret- 
ted my  visit;  for,  whoever  is  interested  in  the  people  and  their  lan- 
guage, finds  instruction  here.  No  place  u  more  favourable  for  the 
acquirement  of  the  Arabic  language.  Even  if  not  much  talk  is 
going  on,  still  the  Moors  are  here  less  taciturn  than  anywhere 
else.  The  long  rows  of  different  guests,  sitting  with  crossed  legs, 
offer  a  most  interesting  opportunity  for  the  study  of  physiognomies. 
At  the  side  of  the  immoveably  calm  Moor,  or  Kurugli  in  gaudy 
Turkish  garb,  we  behold  a  sable  Negro  in  the  same  style  of  attire, 

*  Kuruglis  are  the  children  of  Turks  and  Mooresses. 


ALGERINE  LliE.  31 

but  mostly  of  dirty  yellow  material.  Next  to  him  is  a  fine  tall 
Arab  with  sunburnt  face,  his  mighty  frame  clad  in  white  garments, 
and  a  rope  of  camel's  hair  twisted  round  his  head.  Then  again  we 
notice  a  short  grown  Kabyle,  ragged,  wild,  with  piercing  glance, 
or  a  Mozabite  of  the  Sahara,  and  a  Biskari  from  the  Belad- 
el- Jerid,  and  among  them  again,  a  Frenchman  in  regimentals,  or 
clad  according  to  Paris  fashion,  adapting  himself  to  every  society, 
and  everywhere  happy  by  his  merry  turn  of  mind.  The  finest 
Moorish  coffee-house  was  formerly  situated  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Marine,  not  far  from  the  large  mosque.  It  had  a  hall  partitioned 
into  several  galleries,  and  supported  by  columns  which  could 
accommodate  hundreds  of  people.  Another  coffee-house  of  the 
same  style,  though  not  as  spacious,  I  saw  as  late  as  at  the  close 
of  1836,  in  the  street  Bab-a-Zun.  Now,  however,  both  have  dis- 
appeared. European  speculators  have  bought  these  houses,  and 
have  raised  stately  buildings  in  their  stead — hotels  and  store- 
houses, which  enrich  Algiers  with  some  good  French  architecture, 
but  have  impoverished  it  of  specimens  of  building  characteristi- 
cally Moorish,  for  among  all  yet  existing  coffee-houses,  there  is 
not  one  as  remarkable  for  its  style,  as  those  which  have  been  de- 
stroyed. The  present  ones  are  lengthy  vaults  without  marble 
columns,  furnished  only  with  two  rows  of  stone  benches  which  are 
covered  with  mats,  braided  of  palm-leaves.  On  these  the  guests 
sit  down  in  the  well-known  Oriental  way.  The  kitchen,  a  small 
smoky  corner,  is  in  a  niche  at  the  outside  of  the  vault.-  The 
coffee  is  served  in  small  china  cups,  resting  on  tin  stands,  and 
mixed  for  the  French  with  moist  sugar;  it  is  pretty  strong  and 
of  pleasant  flavour;  the  sediment  fills  almost  half  the  cup.  It 
is  offered  together  with  a  red  earthenware  pipe  on  a  long  tube, 
filled  with  excellent  tobacco.  The  whole  costs  one  sou  (about 
one  halfpenny),  it  is  hardly  possible  to  fancy  a  cheaper  treat. 
The  proprietor  of  a  larger  coft'ee-house  usually  little  troubles  him- 
self with  his  business;  but,  sitting  at  the  entrance  with  calm 
gravity,  he  greets  his  European  guest  with  "  Good  evening,  sir," 
and  his  own  co-rellglonlsts  with  the  warmer  welcome,  "  Peace  be 


32  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

upon  thee;"  and  then  he  shoutF  to  the  servants,  "Bring  coffee, 
bring  a  pipe."  The  cook  is  usually  a  Negro,  the  waiters,  Moorish 
lads  with  milkwhite  and  rosy  faces,  who,  instead  of  the  turban, 
wear  a  red  skull-cap  on  their  completely  shorn  heads.  The  larger 
coffee-houses  have  regularly  music  in  the  evening ;  the  orchestra 
is  placed  close  to  the  kitchen,  from  the  smoking  kettles  of  which 
the  musicians  receive  from  time  to  time  invigorating  coffee.  The 
instruments  of  these  African  artists  are  most  usually  a  three- 
corded  violin,  called  rebebb,  several  pipes  and  guitars,  and  a 
peculiar  kind  of  drum,  the  tarr,  which,  however,  is  oftener  heard 
in  the  streets ;  the  brass  instruments,  likewise,  which  deafen  us  at 
the  celebration  of  the  Bairam,  and  at  nuptials,  are  excluded  from 
the  coffee-houses.  Here  one  seeks  repose,  and  a  soft  monotonous 
lulling  music,  which  is  well  adapted  to  the  idle  enjoyment  of  the 
assembly,  does  not  disturb  vague  contemplation,  or  scare  away  the 
misty  dreams,  in  which  the  fertile  imagination  of  these  effeminate 
Moors  delights,  who  do  not  wish  to  be  roused  here  by  energetic 
sounds  to  the  remembrance  of  the  clattering  arms  and  the  chival- 
rous feats  of  their  ancestors.  A  celebrated  coffee-house  stands 
near  to  the  Roman  Chatholic  Church,  where  we  mostly  met  with 
many  Europeans,  as  the  coffee  is  excellent,  the  society  interesting, 
and  the  orchestra  very  good.  Its  conductor  is  an  old  Moor,  who 
handles  his  instrument,  the  violin,  with  peculiar  originality,  and 
the  play  of  his  features,  the  movements  of  his  head,  accompanied 
by  grave  and  monotonous  gestures,  are  strikingly  funny.  He  was 
one  of  the  musicians  to  the  last  Dey,  and  for  sixty  years  he  has 
ever  enlivened  all  the  festivals  of  Algiers.  In  consequence,  he  is 
likewi^  highly  respected,  and  a  welcome  friend  to  the  families 
whom  he  has  cheered  and  comforted  by  his  sounds  in  the  days  of 
joy  and  of  woe;  at  the  nuptials,  when  his  melodies  directed  the 
steps  of  the  dancers,  and  at  the  funerals,  when  his  strings  uttered 
the  same  melancholy  monotonous  sounds  which  seem  to  match 
equally  well  the  feelings  of  regret  as  of  calm  enjoyment.  In  the 
coffee-house  of  the  Divan  Street,  we  sometimes  saw  dancing  girls, 
singing  to  the  music.     The  proprietor  of  this  coffee-house  is  the 


ALGERINE  LIFE.  33 

brother  of  the  Braham  Shaush,  the  executioner  of  Algiers,  who  is 
a  stately  man,  very  rich,  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  Moors. — 
Some  coffee-houses  in  the  upper  part  of  the  town,  present  more 
original  and  merrier  scenes,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
castle.  There  is  the  Greek  coffee-house,  whose  owner,  a  Spezziot, 
tries  to  allure  his  customers  by  scenes  of  the  lowest  description. 
The  worst  folks  from  among  the  natives,  often  mixed  up  with  good- 
for-nothing  Europeans,  revel  there  without  difference  of  race  and 
religion :  Mohammedans,  Christians,  and  Jews,  Europeans,  and 
Africans.  A  French  painter  sketched  this  abominable  den,  which 
belongs  to  the  oddest,  but  at  the  same  time,  to  the  most  revolting 
pictures  of  Algerian  life. 

Algiers  has  as  many  brilliant  French  coffee-houses  as  dull 
Moorish  ones.  There  is  an  establishment  of  this  kind  in  the 
house  Latour  du  Pin,  which  may  vie  with  the  most  splendid 
cafes  of  Paris.  25,000  francs  (£1000)  were  wasted  on  mirrors 
and  ornaments  in  the  large  hall  alone.  Such  speculations  are 
natural  in  a  new  country,  where  a  wide  field  for  enterprise  attracts 
a  disproportionate  number  of  people  anxious  to  make  money ;  and 
as  there  exists  hardly  an  easier  and  more  pleasant  trade  than  that 
of  an  inn  or  coffee-house  keeper,  many  took  to  this  business.  But 
competition  soon  compelled  them  to  use  every  means  to  allure 
guests,  and  consequently  the  speculators  soon  surpass  one  another 
in  the  splendour  and  costliness  of  their  establishments.  Besides,  the 
number  of  consumers  is  very  considerable  here.  It  is  a  young, 
life-enjoying,  and  heedless  kind  of  people  that  immigrates  hither 
from  Europe.  The  tradesmen,  who  earn  a  great  deal,  spend  every- 
thing ;  and  constant  attendance  is  secured  by  the  numerous  mili- 
tary men,  amongst  whom  there  are  numbers  of  rich  officers,  who 
receive  an  ample  income  from  France,  and  lead  a  most  extrava- 
gant life. 

Few  populations  in  the  world  consist  of  such  heterogeneous 
elements  as  that  of  Algiers.  There  are  Moors,  who  form  the 
majority;  Negroes,  Turks,  Kuruglls,  Kabyles,  Mozabites,  Bis- 
karis,  (Arab  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Biskara,  in  the  province  of 


34  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

Coustantine,  who  work  in  Algiers  for  daily  wages,)  and  Jews. 
Of  Europeans  we  meet,  besides  French,  many  Spaniards,  Maltese, 
Italians,  and  Germans. 

Yet  life  has  here,  on  the  whole,  a  Mohammedan  type.     The 
beginning  of  the  Ramadan  is  announced  by  the  report  of  101 
cannons,  of  the  bulky  thirty- six  pounders,  close  to  the  harbour. 
The  Mohammedan  population  is  bound  to  pay  one  duro  (about 
four  shillings)  for  every  shot,  to  the  magistrate,  so  that  these 
festive  signals  are  not  precisely  a  gratuitous  courtesy  on  the  part 
of  the  French.    Immediately  after,  the  signal-lamps  are  lighted 
on  the  balconies  of  the  mosque- steeples,  crowning  them  with  a 
brilliant  halo.     In  the  midst  of  this  circle  of  light  stands  the 
priest,  the  Muezzin,  in  his  festive  garb,  drawing  up  the  white 
flag,  proclaiming  the  praise  of  the  Most  High  to  all  the  world, 
and  calling  the  believers  to  prayer.     There  is  hardly  a  Moham- 
medan in  Algiers,  children  alone  excepted,  who  would  not  obey 
this  solemn  summons.    Neither  age  nor  wealth  can  lull  the  Moors 
into  indifference  for  their  faith.     The  thirty-nine  mosques  yet 
existing  here,  during  my  stay,  were  always  crowded  by  pious 
Mussulmans  throughout  the  Ramadan.     Curiosity,  and  the  inte- 
rest in  mysterious  -ceremonies  so  prevalent  with  us  Germans, 
attracted  me  likewise  towards  the  mosque,  whenever  I  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Muezzin.    The  large  interior  colonnade  of  the  mosque, 
in  the  Rue  de  la  Marine,  is  at  that  time  illuminated  by  numerous 
lamps,  and  in  the  recess  of  the  sanctuary  stands  the  Mufti-el- 
Hanefi,  or  Sheikh-el-Islam,  with  the  Koran  before  him,  from 
which  he  first  reads,  mumbling  low,  with  bowed  head,  until  the 
congregation  has  become  numerous.     The  devotees,  with  faces 
turned  to  the  niche,  form  several  long  rows.     They  stand,  or  sit 
with  crossed  legs,  motionless  and  dumb,  like  statues.     But  sud- 
denly the  voice  of  the  priest  is  raised,  thrilling  the  whole  audience 
by  one  single  shrill  sound.     He  says  the  prayers,  the  contents  of 
which  are  rather  monotonous, — an  unceasing  enumeration  of  ad- 
jectives in  praise  of  Allah,  like  the -old  hymns  of  the  Greeks,  or 
the  litany  of  the  Roman  Catholics.     Then  again  he  reads  verses 


ALGERINE  LIFE.  35 

of  the  Koran,  and  often  breaks  out  into  whining  and  piercing 
lamentations,  sounding  like  the  piteous  utterance  of  a  tortured 
man.  The  character  of  the  Ramadan-prayer  is  the  most  com- 
plete self-humiliation  in  presence  of  the  majesty  of  a  great  and 
stern  God.  The  tone  of  the  praying  Mufti  does  not  long  continue 
to  be  piercingly  shrill ;  it  sometimes  resembles  a  doleful  song, 
sinking  slowly  by  degrees  like  the  tunes  of  some  bird  in  the 
woods.  With  every  modulation  of  the  voice  of  the  priest,  the 
devotees  are  seized  with  the  strangest  convulsive  fits,  precipitating 
themselves  head-foremost  on  the  carpet,  kneeling,  bowing,  convul- 
sively rising  again,  and  again  crouching ;  yet  everything  in  a 
regular  systematic  way,  every  movement  in  harmony  with  the 
rythm  of  the  prayer.  It  is  a  striking  sight  to  behold  the  proud 
Mohammedan  thus  at  the  feet  of  his  God,  bowing  in  trembling 
humility,  like  a  sinful  slave.  The  pious  assembly  is  all  mixed 
together,  without  any  distinction  of  rank  and  race.  I  noticed 
among  it  Moors,  Turks,  Kuruglis,  Arabs,  Kabyles,  Biskaris,  and 
Negroes.  The  Turks  in  magnificent  gaudy  dress,  crouched 
beside  the  uncouth  ragged  Biskari,  the  pale  Moor  with  noble 
features  next  to  the  ill-formed  apish  Negro  of  Sudan,  all  aspiring 
to  their  Creator  with  the  same  pious  devotion.  The  perfect  sen- 
timent of  equality  is  one  of  the  characteristic  features  of  Islam. 

The  Mussulmans,  during  prayer,  always  have  a  rosary  twisted 
round  their  hands,  like  the  Roman  Catholics  and  Buddhists.  In 
Algiers,  these  rosaries  are  made  of  the  round  seeds  of  the  dwarf- 
palm  (Chamaerops  humilis.)  The  priests  of  all  classes,  the 
majority  of  the  Arab  Marabuts,  and  many  old  Beduins,  wear 
them  round  their  neck,  both  as  token  of  their  piety  and  as  an 
ornament.  Some  of  the  most  renowned  saints  of  this  country, 
among  them  Abd-el-Kader,  almost  always  have  the  rosary  in 
their  hand.  When  the  Mohammedan  has  wearied  himself  out 
with  prayer,  he  remains  immoveable  for  some  moments,  bows  his 
head  to  his  breast,  lets  the  beads  of  his  rosary  once  more  pass  his 
fingers,  and  mumbles  his  farewell  to  the  sacred  spot.  In  one  of  the 
courts,  where,  as  I  have  mentioned  before,  there  are  orange- groves 


36  ^  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

and  fountains,  he  carefully  washes  hands  and  feet  with  consecrated 
water,  then  puts  on  his  sandals  again,  and  leaves  the  mosque  with 
his  usual  grave  deportment.  From  this  centre  of  union  where 
every  earthly  distinction  disappears,  they  all  return  to  their  com- 
mon life  and  usual  pursuits :  the  Moor  to  his  stone  house,  where 
his  wife  greets  him  in  the  marble  hall ;  the  Beduin  to  his  camel's 
hair  tent  in  the  wilderness  ;  the  Kabyle  to  his  mud  cabin  in  the 
mountains.  But,  on  their  way  home,  many  of  these  devotees  do 
not  hesitate  to  plunder  their  co-religionists,  or  to  cut  the  throat 
of  the  very  first  Christian  whom  they  chance  to  meet  in  lonely 
paths. 

During  the  thirty  days  of  the  Ramadan,  the  Mohammedans 
fast  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  but,  during  night,  they  amply  make 
up  for  this  abstinence.  Then  they  feast  the  more  luxuriously, 
and  amuse  themselves  with  music,  dance,  theatrical  representa- 
tions, and  various  pranks  and  practical  jokes,  as  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  south  do  in  carnival ;  so  that  we  are  induced  to  ask 
whether  this  very  ancient  custom  has  not  been  transmitted  from 
the  Mussulmans  to  the  Christians,  or  perhaps  to  both  from  the 
Romans  and  Egyptians.  Fasting  during  the  day  is  kept  with 
the  utmost  strictness  ;  it  is  only  when  the  last  ray  of  the  sun  has 
disappeared  behind  the  mountains  that  the  Moors  delight  in  their 
dishes,  which  have  long  been  ready,  but  which  no  one  ventures 
to  taste  before  the  cannon  has  boomed.  I  have  met  with  a  strange 
example  of  this  conscientious  observance  of  the  religious  ceremo- 
nies. On  my  trips  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  I  once  had 
engaged  a  Biskari  to  attend  me  for  several  days.  By  an  unlucky 
chance  we  lost  our  provisions,  and  spent  twenty-four  hours  without 
any  food  whatever,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  plain  of  Metija. 
When  we  again  reached  Algiers,  it  was  early  in  the  morning.  I 
paid  my  Biskari,  and  hastened  to  my  repast.  An  hour  later  I 
saw  my  man  crouched  in  a  corner  at  the  harbour.  I  asked  him 
if  he  had  eaten  ?  He  shook  his  head,  and  exclaimed,  *'  G  od  bids 
me  yet  to  fast  I "  and  he  waited  with  empty  stomach,  though  he 
had  bread  in  his  cowl,  till  evening.     No  doubt  he  felt  the  tor- 


ALGEKINE  LIFE.  37 

ments  of  hunger ;  his  pale  features  expressed  it  plainly,  but  he 
would  not  touch  food  on  any  account.  When  the  evening  canon- 
shot  was  heard,  the  Biskari  pulled  the  bread  from  his  cowl,  and 
devoured  it  in  an  instant. 

The  principal  meal  in  the  nights  of  the  Ramadan  is  the 
kuskusu,  a  kind  of  pudding,  consisting  of  small  globules  of  wheat- 
paste,  boiled  in  a  peculiar  way,  sometimes  currants  and  raisins 
are  mixed  with  it,  and  broth  or  milk  poured  upon  the  dish,  in  the 
middle  of  which  lies  a  square  piece  of  butter.  At  rich  houses 
roast  fowl  is  put  upon  the  kuskusu.  The  next  dish  is  always 
roast  lamb,  followed  by  fmits  and  preserves.  Several  cups  of 
coffee  close  the  meal. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  the  Ramadan  is  the  masquerade  in  all 
the  coffee-houses.  It  resembles  those  of  Italy  and  France  in  the 
last  days  of  the  carnival ;  but  it  is  here  often  of  an  obscence  cha- 
racter. Another  place  of  amusement  during  the  Ramadan,  is 
the  Moorish  theatre  of  the  Gharagus.  It  is  performed  by 
Chinese  shades;  little  black  figures  appear  here  on  the  illumed 
transparent  carpet  of  oil-paper,  among  whom  Gharagus,  the 
Punch  of  the  Moors,  distinguishes  himself  by  his  gigantic  height, 
his  fun,  and  his  practical  jokes.  The  performance  is  in  many 
respects  similar  to  that  of  the  English  Punchy  or  the  Italian  Pul- 
cinella.  Blows  are  given  and  received  from  beginning  to  end, 
and  Gharagus  is  the  hero  who  flogs  and  kicks  more,  and  is  more 
flogged  and  kicked,  than  all  the  other  persons  of  the  play  together. 
The  explanation  of  the  plot  is  given  both  in  French  and  Arabic, 
and  is  not  fit  for  chaste  European  ears.  It  is  really  scandalous 
that  the  French  government  does  not  put  a  stop  to  the  shocking 
portions  of  this  amusement,  which  must  degrade  the  younger  part 
of  the  population,  who  are  always  present  at  the  Gharagus. 

After  the  thirty  days'  Ramadan,  the  Bairam  follows, — the  feast 
of  joy  and  reconciliation, — ^when  the  Mussulman  expresses  his 
happiness  in  a  loud  way,  even  in  the  day  time.  Negro-bands 
pass  through  the  streets,  making  deafening  noise,  which  they 
call  music,  and  importuning  you  until  you  get  rid  of  them  by 


38  ALGERINE  LIFE. 

giving  them  a  penm^  All  the  population  is  clad  in  its  best 
attire,  especially  the  children.  Females  are  often  seen  in  the 
streets,  but  always  veiled ;  the  Mussulmans  embrace  one  another, 
and  kiss  one  another's  shoulders;  the  young  boys  pour  rosewater 
on  the  Europeans. 

Before  the  water-gate  there  is  a  large  sunny  meadow,  where 
the  youth  amuse  themselves  in  swings,  or  are  carted  away  in 
painted  wheelbarrows.  But  from  1830,  the  ride  in  carriages  has 
become  more  popular.  This  is  an  amusement  not  formerly  known 
in  Barbary,  and  the  Moors  have  on  that  day  cabs  to  dash  along 
the  streets  in  full  gallop.  At  the  time  of  the  Deys,  the  noisy 
merriment  of  the  Bairam  often  degenerated  into  religious  fanati- 
cism, and  it  was  unsafe,  on  that  day,  for  any  Christian  or  Jew  to 
be  seen  in  the  streets.  The  Mussulmans  pelted  them  with  stones, 
and  assailed  them  often  seriously,  as  the  Greeks  of  Athens  assail 
the  Jews  on  Good-Friday. 

The  Moors  have  a  barbarous  custom  in  common  with  the  Eng- 
lish— they  like  to  bury  their  dead  among  the  living.  Yet  in  the 
fortified  cities  the  churchyards  are  outside  the  walls,  in  the  most 
picturesque  spots  of  the  neighbourhood.  The  sepulchral  monu- 
ments are  often  very  fine :  the  most  picturesque  of  them  at  Algiers 
were  formerly  those  of  the  five  murdered  Deys.  In  1779,  the 
Janissaries  were  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  fractions,  and  could 
not  unite  in  the  election  of  a  Dey.  As  soon  as  one  of  the  candi- 
dates was  clad  in  the  imperial  robe,  the  conspirators  of  the  oppo- 
site part}^  murdered  him  instantly,  and  set  their  candidate  on  the 
throne,  who  again  was  murdered.  Five  times  this  bloody  scene 
was  reiterated  in  the  course  of  the  day,  until  at  last  the  Janissaries, 
weary  of  the  fight,  came  to  a  peculiar  agreement.  All  their 
officers  were  to  go  to  the  grand  mosque,  and  the  first  Turk  whom 
they  happened  to  see  stepping  out  was  to  be  the  Dey.  It  was  a 
cobbler,  who,  fearing  the  fate  of  his  five  predecessors,  was  greatly 
frightened  when  he  was  hailed  as  Dey,  and  loudly  protested  against 
his  elevation  to  this  dignity.  But  he  was  immediately  clad  in 
the  robe,  and  set  upon  the  red  velvet  cushion,  whilst  the  Muezzins 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  39 

proclaimed  his  enthronement.  As  chance  would  have  it,  the 
election  was  a  good  one.  The  cobbler  ruled  wisely  and  justly, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  Deys  Algeria  had  ever  seen.  He  had  the 
five  Deys  buried  close  to  one  another,  and  built  five  monuments  in 
their  remembrance,  in  form  of  five  minarets  of  oblong  slender 
form,  richly  ornamented  with  marble  and  porcelain.  But  the 
French  soldiers  have  greatly  defaced  those  handsome  monuments. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 


There  is  scarcely  any  more  charming  Panorama  in  the  world 
than  the  scenery  around  Algiers,  viewed  from  the  Emperor's  Fort 
in  the  months  of  April  and  May.  The  glance  embraces  here  an 
immense  semicircle  of  hills  and  plains  and  mountains,  which  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Blue  Sea.  April  and  May  are  the 
finest  months  in  Algiers,  when  the  vegetation  is  most  luxuriant. 
Close  to  the  evergreen  foliage  of  the  majestic  date-palms,  and  of 
the  lovely  lemon-groves  and  carob-trees,  we  see  the  tender  shoots 
of  the  poplar  and  of  the  vine.  Creepers  climb  up  the  bark  of  the 
trees,  and  adorn  them  with  their  blooms,  whilst  the  ground  is 
covered  by  a  dense  vegetation  of  grass  and  flowers,  and  the  cheer- 
ful warbling  of  the  birds,  and  the  humming  of  countless  sparkling 
insects,  heighten  the  charm  of  the  beautiful  country.  We  see 
from  the  Emperor's  Fort  first  the  whole  chain  of  hills  from  the 
Bujarea  to  the  camp  of  Kuba,  and  the  fertile  coast  between  Cape 
Cascines  and  the  Maison  Carree — a  blessed  country,  studded  with 
white  Moorish  garden-houses.  The  eye  is  then  detained  by  the 
Sahel,  a  hilly  plateau^  and  its  continuation  in  the  east  up  to  Cape 
Matifu — a  wild  and  little  cultivated  country  covered  with  bushes 
and  shrubs.  To  the  south  and  east  of  the  Sahel  extends  the 
plain  of  Metija,  with  its  Arab  encampments  and  sparse  groves  of 
trees,  bounded  by  the  picturesque  chain  of  the  Atlas,  which  is 


40  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OP  ALGIERS. 

surmounted  in  the  east  by  the  Jurjura,  the  majestic  mountain 
with  seven  snow-capped  peaks. 

As  to  the  flat  coast,  the  surf  of  the  sea  has  formed  here  a  dyke 
of  sand,  which  in  some  places  is  above  200  feet  broad.  Close  to 
it  we  find  a  black  and  rich  alluvial  soil,  which  covers  the  narrow 
plain  between  the  sea  and  the  hilly  plateau,  and  clothes  likewise 
the  northern  slope  of  the  hills.  In  spring  the  sand  of  the  coast 
is  adorned  by  the  iris  alata,  the  euphorbia  paralias  and  helioscopia, 
the  cerenthe  major,  the  smilax  mauritanica,  and  other  plants. 
The  narrow  plain  and  the  slopes  of  the  hills  are  covered  by  the 
most  luxuriant  cactus  opuntia,  the  leaves  of  which,  studded  with 
long  thorns  and  little  prickly  warts,  are  often  two  inches  thick 
and  two  feet  long.  This  cactus  is  often  planted  around  the  gar- 
dens, and  forms  an  impenetrable  hedge.  The  gigantic  agave 
Americana  is  likewise  often  to  be  met  with  in  this  plain,  and 
presents  in  August  a  most  splendid  view,  when  its  magnificent 
blossoms  rise  on  a  slender  stalk  often  to  twenty  feet,  like  a  gigan- 
tic chandelier.  Date-palms  are  found  only  in  the  very  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  city  :  the  gardens  are  filled  with  orange  and 
lemon-groves,  bananas,  almonds,  and  pomegranate  trees.  The 
wild  olive-tree  grows  to  a  height  and  beauty  which  seems  incre- 
dible even  to  an  inhabitant  of  the  Provence  :  the  mulberry-tree  is 
scarce,  but  attains  an  immense  circumference.  Carob- trees  grow 
both  wild  and  cultivated  in  the  orchards.  The  philyreas  are 
frequent  among  the  shrubs,  the  malvas  among  the  plants.  There 
is  no  want  of  springs  and  streamlets  ;  and  therefore  the  vegeta- 
tion is  luxuriant,  except  in  July,  August,  and  September,  when 
the  soil  is  parched  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  rocks  protruding 
from  under  the  alluvial  soil  are  mostly  of  tertiary  lime  formation, 
resting  upon  talcose  mica- schist,  which  forms  the  principal  geolo- 
gical feature  of  the  vicinity  of  Algiers,  and  contains  veins  of 
quartz.  At  the  Emperor's  Fort,  the  schist  passes  into  feldspar 
and  gneiss ;  on  other  points  it  contains  iron  in  different  forms, 
but  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  worked  profitably.  The 
Bujarea  is  the  highest  top  of  the  hills  on  the  coast,  and  rises,  at 


BOUGIE     A  NO    TH 


us     MOUNTAINS 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  41 

about  half  an  hour's  distance  from  Algiers,  to  the  height  of  1230 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  continuation  of  the  hills,  called  the  Massif  or  Sahel,  is  an 
irregular  plateau,  with  elevations  and  valleys.  It  is  everywhere 
covered  with  shrubs,  and  but  little  cultivated.  The  dwarf-palm, 
a  plant  difficult  to  extirpate,  covers  nearly  all  the  soil  with  its 
fan-like  leaves.  Only  the  pistaccia- shrub  and  the  prickly  broom 
resist  its  encroachments.  The  greatest  breadth  of  the  Sahel  is 
about  six  French  leagues ;  its  length  from  the  banks  of  the  Araj 
to  Sidi  Ferruch,  about  eight  leagues.  Only  one  insignificant 
river,  the  El-Kerma,  runs  from  the  plateau  into  the  Araj. 
To  the  east  and  west,  the  Sahel  descends  imperceptibly  to  the 
plain  of  Metija  in  a  gentle  slope ;  but  the  same  shrub-vegetation 
continues  all  along  the  sea  up  to  Cape  Matifu,  and  even  beyond. 
South  to  the  Sahel  extends  the  plain  of  Metija,  which  surrounds 
the  plateau  in  a  semicircle.  It  is  a  green,  but  bald  country,  of 
about  100  miles  length,  and  where  it  is  widest,  of  about  twenty 
miles  breadth.  It  is  covered  with  rich  alluvial  soil,  and  most 
profusely  watered  by  many  streams  and  rivers  running  from  the 
mountains  to  the  south.  The  northern  part  of  the  plain  is 
swampy  and  very  unhealthy,  whilst  its  southern  portion  has  fine 
fields  and  woods  in  abundance.  There  are  many  fine  Moorish 
farms  and  gardens,  several  Arab  encampments,  and  a  few  French 
military  camps  in  the  Metija;  yet  they  are  lost  in  the  great  flat 
extension.  Amongst  the  flowers,  which  in  spring  adorn  the  plain, 
I  remarked  the  Scilla  maritima,  a  great  bulbous  plant,  with  beau- 
tiful white  flowers,  and  many  species  of  the  iris  and  orchis,  whilst 
the  banks  of  all  the  streams  and  rivers  are  covered  with  immense 
oleander  shrubs,  which  in  March  open  their  scarlet  blossoms. 

The  first  chain  of  the  Atlas  south  of  the  Metija,  has  an  eleva- 
tion frbm  3200  to  3500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  the  highest 
peak,  the  Ras-el-Hammal,  rises  to  4900  feet.  I  found  here  petri- 
fied molluscas,  but  not  in  great  quantity.  Of  metals  thei-e  are 
large  deposits  of  copper  in  the  mountains,  and  some  fields  of  iron. 
The  northern  slope  of  the  chain  is  fertile,  and  well  cultivated  by 


42  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 

the  Kabyles,  studded  with  wild  olive-trees,  which  yield  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  oil,  though  of  bad  quality.  It  is  manufac- 
tured and  brought  to  Algiers  by  the  mountaineers.  The  necks 
of  the  Atlas  are  covered  with  woods  of  evergreen,  oak,  and  the 
cork-tree,  harbouring  jackals,  hyaenas,  and  panthers,  which  hide 
themselves  during  day  in  the  thickets  and  rock -caves,  and  come 
down  at  night  into  the  plain,  howling  fearfully,  and  preying  upon 
the  herds  of  the  Arabs. 

Most  of  my  excursions  I  made  on  horseback,  formerly  the  only 
pleasant  means  of  conveyance  in  Barbary.  It  is  not  usual  to 
travel  here  on  camels,  except  in  the  desert,  since  it  is  more  agree- 
able to  ride  on  horses.  Camels  are,  near  Algiers,  used  only  as 
beasts  of  burden;  but  in  the  desert  the  caniel  is  indispensable, 
and  their  number  increases  among  the  tribes  as  we  approach  the 
Sahara.  The  French  army  has,  since  the  occupation,  never 
ceased  to  construct  high-roads  between  the  principal  cities  of  the 
Regency,  so  that  stage-coaches  now  run  from  Algiers  in  all  direc- 
tions, even  across  the  Atlas,  and  reach  nearly  to  the  desert.  Al- 
together, the  French  are  most  active  with  such  improvements, 
though  their  progress  in  agriculture  is  by  no  means  commensu- 
rate. Whilst  in  every  French  camp  you  find  baths,  coffee- houses, 
billiards,  lodging  and  boarding-houses,  you  see  them  surrounded 
by  a  wilderness.  A  traveller  finds  almost  everywhere  good 
accommodation;  besides,  the  amiability  of  the  French  officers  to 
foreigners  is  well  known,  and  wherever  I  arrived,  I  was  sure  to 
be  hospitably  received  in  their  tents,  where  no  good  hotel  could 
be  found. 

The  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Algiers,  about  three  hours 
around  the  walls,  is  designated  by  the  Arab  name  of  Fhas,  that 
is  to  say,  the  territory  of  the  city.  Politically,  it  is  divided  into 
different  "  communes,"  each  of  them  containing  a  village.  It  is 
a  magnificent  country,  full  of  picturesque  views;  but  its  inde- 
scribable beauty  is  not  yet  sufficiently  known  and  appreciated  in 
Europe.  The  "Fhas"  is  an  undulating  country,  broken  by 
several  deep  cuts,  the  southern  vegetation  of  which  far  surpasses 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  43 

that  of  the  most  favoured  countries  in  Italy  and  Spain.  I  met  a 
Neapolitan  painter  in  May,  contemplating  this  scenery,  and  ex- 
claiming repeatedly:  "  There  is  nothing  more  beautiful  on  earth." 

The  Moorish  farmers  of  the  Fhas  are  a  peaceable,  inoffensive, 
amiable  race,  fully  satisfied  if  left  in  peace.  When  sporting 
Frenchmen  trespass  on  their  fields,  or  when  the  thirsty  rambler 
gathers  melons  or  pomegranates  in  their  gardens,  the  proprietor 
never  utters  a  complaint;  on  the  contrary,  he  often  invites  the 
intruder  to  partake  of  his  figs  or  grapes.  An  old  venerable  Moor, 
in  the  community  of  Kuba,  met  me  often  on  the  foothpaths,  but 
never  without  stopping  his  donkey,  and  ofTering  me  his  snuff-box, 
with  a  most  hearty  welcome.  I  liked  these  kind  patriarchal 
Moors,  in  whose  noble  features  so  much  mildness  and  nobility  is 
expressed.  They  are  much  preferable  to  the  Moorish  town-folks, 
nearly  all  of  these  being  shop-keepers,  and  therefore  getting  cun- 
ning and  less  unsophisticated.  The  Moorish  farmers  are  excellent 
gardeners,  and  their  oranges,  pomegranates,  and  melons,  offer  a 
most  alluring  spectacle.  They  like  the  grapes  as  table-fruit,  and 
though  they  make  no  wine,  they  grow  them  with  great  care,  and 
to  a  prodigious  size;  I  saw  bunches  of  five  and  six  pounds  weight. 
The  Moors  pretend  to  have  some  secrets  about  the  culture  of 
oranges,  which,  there  is  no  doubt,  thrive  under  their  care  better 
than  in  the  French  orchards.  As  to  the  cultivation  of  the  olive 
tree,  however,  the  French  by  far  surpass  the  natives,  who  manu- 
facture oil  of  bad  quality  only. 

The  European  population  "of  the  Fhas,  are  Frenchmen,  Spa- 
niards, and  Germans.  Many  officers  and  officials,  immediately 
after  the  conquest,  bought  the  finest  gardens  for  a  mere  trifle  in 
the  communities  of  Mustapha  and  of  Bujarea.  The  Turks  were 
banished,  the  Moors  began  to  emigrate,  and  both  classes  sold 
their  property,  parting  with  the  most  magnificent  villas  and  farms 
at  any  price.  Some  of  these  splendid  residences  have  often 
changed  proprietors,  each  of  them  selling  it  at  a  premium  to 
some  new-comer,  as  there  were  always  speculators  enough,  who, 
in  the  belief  that  the  epoch  of  a  great  European  immigration  had 


44  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 

arrived,  disproportionally  enhanced  the  prices  of  the  farms  in  the 
vicinity  of  Algiers.  Other  jobbers  behaved  like  Vandals;  they 
half-destroyed  the  houses,  sold  the  wood,  iron,  glazed  tiles,  and 
marble  columns  piecemeal,  and  offered  the  ruins  to  other  Euro- 
pean colonists.  But  these  poor  fellows,  unable  to  aiford  the  high 
prices,  went  rather  farther  to  the  uncultivated  parts  of  the  Fhas, 
and  there  built  each  his  hut.  Many  handsome  country  seats  on 
Bujarea  and  Mustapha  have  remained  until  now  empty  and 
ruined,  and  many  a  beautiful  orchard  is  become  a  wilderness 
covered  with  thorny  shrubs;  and  yet  the  speculating  proprietors 
do  not  abate  their  pretensions,  always  expecting  a  time  of  great 
colonization,  and  of  enormous  rise  in  the  value  of  real  property. 
They  do  not  perceive  that  they  themselves  are  the  greatest  hin- 
drance of  colonization.  The  majority  of  the  immigrants  are  poor, 
or  even  paupers,  whilst  rich  people  do  not  risk  their  money  in 
the  culture  of  a  soil  which  is  already  at  a  high  price.  This  nui- 
sance has  only  lately  (1847)  been  abated  by  a  land-tax,  which  is 
levied  even  from  uncultivated  pioperty,  and  the  proprietors  are 
at  last  forced,  either  to  sell  out  or  to  till  their  grounds.  Some  of 
the  officers  and  officials  have  their  gardens  cultivated  by  Kabyles 
or  European  day-labourers,  and  the  generals  and  colonels  find 
here  a  healthy  occupation  for  their  soldiers.  The  farms  of  the 
foreign  consuls  are  the  finest.  Many  of  them  own  palaces 
in  the  country,  as  for  instance,  the  Danish  Consul,  who  has 
married  a  Mooress,  and  whose  country  seat,  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
of  Mustapha,  is  filled  with  black  servants,  in  fact,  house- slaves. 
His  gardeners  and  herdsmen  are  Kabyles. 

The  community  of  Bujarea,  though  close  to  the  city,  is  much 
more  quiet  than  Mustapha.  It  is  the  finest  country  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Algiers,  full  of  shady  trees,  blooming  meadows,  rip- 
pling mountain-streams,  and  clear  springs  in  the  valleys.  The 
Moors  were  always  fully  aware  of  the  charm  of  those  secluded 
dales;  they  have  selected  them  for  their  burying-places.  The 
finest  part  of  the  country  was  retained  for  their  eternal  repose, 
and  but  few  of  them  settled  amidst  the  dead. 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  45 

A  German  village  is  the  centre  of  the  community  of  Deli- 
Ibrahim.  But  this  colony  was  organized,  not  from  an  economic, 
hut  from  a  strategic  point  of  view,  on  a  hill  where  there  is  no 
water.  Stone  barracks  had  been  built  here,  and  the  village  was 
raised  for  the  convenience  of  the  garrison,  without  any  regard  to 
the  soil,  which  is  the  most  barren  all  around  the  city.  Yet  the 
German  colonists  were  thriving  even  here  until  the  last  war  with 
Abd-el-Kader  dispersed  them,  though  the  nearest  spring  of 
water  is  at  three  miles  distance,  and  no  wells  are  bored  in  the 
village. 

To  avoid  the  folly  of  Deli- Ibrahim,  the  next  colony,  Kuba,  was 
planted  on  the  richest  soil.  But  soon  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
site  was  unhealthy ;  half  of  the  villagers  died,  and  the  majority 
of  those  who  survived  emigrated  to  other  communities.  The 
village  is  half-deserted  in  a  most  picturesque  country.  Close  to 
it  stands  a  white,  grave  temple,  Sidi-Kuba,  the  monument  of  a 
celebrated  Marabut,  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  silvery  poplars. 
The  valleys  south  of  the  village  are  all  swampy  and  full  of  water- 
fowl. 

The  "Ferme  ModMe"  is  the  boundary 'of  the  community  of 
Kuba ;  it  was  the  farm  of  the  Dey,  all  enclosed  by  a  solid  wall, 
where  he  reared  his  cattle  and  kept  his  stud.  The  extensive 
farm-buildings  are  surrounded  by  an  orange  orchard,  and  to  the 
north  by  large  corn-fields.  To  the  south,  where  the  Metija 
begins,  great  marshes  make  the  farm  very  unhealthy.  I  saw 
there  even  Arabs  attacked  by  fevers.  This  farm  became,  in 
1830,  the  property  of  a  joint-stock  company,  and  was  to  become 
the  first  agricultural  establishment  of  the  country,  but  the  marsh- 
fevers  defeated  the  scheme. 

The  European  population  of  the  more  remote  communities — El- 
Bine,  Byr-Madreis,  Byr-Kadem,  &c. — are  mostly  Spaniards  from 
the  Baleares,  and  a  few  Proven^ales.  Some  5000  came  from  the 
isle  of  Minorca.  Many  of  them  had  always  been  agriculturists, 
and  they  are,  therefore,  a  real  benefit  to  the  colony;  they  excel 
in  gardening,  and  supply  Algiers  with  vegetables.     Their  future 


46  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 

wealth  consists  in  the  olive-trees  they  have  planted  in  their  gar- 
dens, with  the  cultivation  of  which  they  are  fully  acquainted. 

The  Sahel  is  likewise  divided  into  several  territories,  but  as 
yet  little  cultivated.  A  monastery  of  Trappists  has  been  esta- 
blished in  the  small  valley  of  Staueli,  on  the  battle-field  where,  in 
1830,  the  army  of  the  Dey  was  defeated.  The  silent  vegetarian 
monks  have  here  cleared  the  soil,  and  their  establishment  has 
grown  into  a  model  fann.  French  military  camps  and  barracks, 
and  the  encampments  of  the  Beni-Chana,  Ulid  Salina,  Ulid  Haji, 
are  dispersed  on  the  plateau.  On  the  banks  of  the  river  of 
Massafran,  there  is  a  pretty  forest  called  Tharesa,  full  of  pines, 
cork-trees,  tamarisks,  and  myrtle-trees.  It  is  the  only  forest  in 
the  vicinity  of  Algiers  which  contains  good  timber  for  building. 
I  saw  here  trees  sixty  feet  high.  The  thickets  of  Tharesa  offer  a 
splendid  field  for  sport;  they  are  the  hiding-place  for  wild  boars, 
jackals,  hyaenas,  and  of  lurking  Hajutes.  In  the  Sahel,  the 
traveller's  attention  is  attracted  by  a  considerable  isolated  ruin, 
which  does  not  seem  to  be  of  Roman  origin.  There  is  a  tradition 
among  the  Arabs,  that  it  is  the  ruin  of  a  castle  built  by  a  disso- 
lute Christian  Princess  called  Metija,  who  gave  her  name  to  the 
surrounding  country. 

The  city  of  Algiers  is  separated  from  the  plain  of  Metija  by 
the  plateau  already  described.  The  camp  of  Buffarik  is  the 
centre  of  the  Metija,  and  affords  the  best  point  of  view  for  the 
green  plain,  which  has  the  shape  of  a  crescent.  The  Arab 
encampments  and  country-houses,  though  amounting  to  many" 
hundreds,  disappear  in  this  vast  steppe.  The  European  is  asto- 
nished at  the  thinness  of  the  population,  and  involuntarily  begins 
to  calculate  how  many  quarters  of  wheat  could  be  hence  exported. 
The  Arab  inhabitants  of  this  plain  are  notorious  for  their  dislike 
of  labour;  they  do  not  produce  more  corn  than  they  require  for 
their  food.  The  rich  country  is  for  them  but  a  grazing  field ; 
they  rear  cattle  easily,  and  are  satisfied  with  their  small  profits 
on  their  wool,  and  on  the  surplus  of  their  live  stock. 

At  the  first  glance,  the  Metija  seems  as  level  as  the  sea,  but 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  47 

the  attentive  eye  will  soon  discover  that  it  slopes  gently  north- 
ward from  the  mountains  in  the  south;  the  streams  run  with  a 
slow  fall  straight  to  the  plateau  of  Algiers,  which  forms  a  natural 
dyke,  and  impedes  their  progress.  The  northern  part  of  the  plain 
is,  therefore,  swampy;  but  on  the  two  extremities  of  the  Metija, 
where  the  Sahel .  descends  to  the  plain,  the  rivers  run  without 
obstacle  to  the  sea.  It  is  therefore  not  impossible  to  drain  the 
Metija  by  canals,  connecting  the  small  rivulets  and  streams  in 
the  east  with  the  Araj,  and  in  the  west  with  the  Massafran. 
The  drainage  was  already  contemplated  under  the  administration 
of  General  Voiral ;  and  the  French  regiments  and  the  military 
convicts  were  employed  on  that  gigantic  work,  which,  though 
slowly  advancing,  will  soon  be  accomplished.  The  health  of  the 
Metija  has  been  greatly  improved  by  it ;  the  Maison  Carree  and 
Buffarik  are  no  longer  notorious  for  their  pestilential  climate. 
The  plain  was  from  the  first  beginning  the  paradise  yearned  for 
by  the  friends  of  colonization ;  and  when  the  French  were  asked 
why  thej  did  not  clear  the  country,  and  till  the  ground  on  the 
plateau,  they  invariably  replied:  "  We  cannot  cultivate  anything 
but  the  rich  plain;  we  are  not  inclined  to  invest  our  capital  in 
the  poor  and  little  remunerative  soil  of  the  hilly  Sahel."  They 
forgot  the  experience  of  the  Americans,  who  generally  take  up 
the  poorer  soil  in  the  west,  as  the  cultivation  of  the  rich  bottoms, 
in  a  sj)arsely  tenanted  district,  destroys  the  life  of  the  first  colo- 
nists. Yet  the  plain  was  here  not  always  a  swampy  marsh ;  we 
find  in  it  everywhere  traces  of  ancient  drainage,  either  the  work 
of  the  Koraans,  those  mighty  civillzers  of  barbarous  countries,  or 
of  the  Moors  of  the  period  in  which  active  enthusiasm  was  alive 
with  them,  and  they  had  not  yet  fallen  into  their  present  passive 
dulness.  The  tradition  of  the  flower  of  the  Metija  is  until  now 
maintained  among  the  inhabitants. 

Seven  rivers  run  through  the  plain.  To  its  eastern  extremity 
the  Isser ;  then  proceeding  westwards,  the  Korso,  the  Reghaia, 
the  Hamiss,  the  Araj,  the  Kerma,  and  the  Massafran.  None  of 
them  is  navigable,  even  for  small  boats,  except  the  Reghaia,  the 


48  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 

smallest  of  all,  which  resembles  a  canal  in  its  gentle  fall,  its 
equal  depth,  and  its  narrowness ;  it  seems  to  have  been  regulated 
in  times  of  old.  All  these  rivers  flow  from  south  to  north,  and 
resemble  one  another;  the  Massafran  alone  distinguishes  itself 
by  the  high  vegetation  and  forests  on  its  banks.  The  general 
character  of  the  rivers  in  Barbary  is  a  slow  meandering  run,  a 
narrow  mouth,  and  swampy  banks,  covered  by  the  oleander  shrub, 
the  Egyptian  willow,  and  other  bushes,  which  are  peopled  by 
long-legged  morass-birds,  as,  for  instance,  the  plover  (himantopus 
rufipes),  the  ibis,  and  the  purple  heron. 

The  Metija  is  divided  into  five  territories.  The  territory  of 
the  Issers  in  the  east  lies  between  the  rivers  Isser  and  Korso;  it  is 
very  fertile  and  well  cultivated.  There  are  but  few  morasses  in 
this  district  which  is  inhabited  by  the  tribe  of  the  Beni-Isser.  It 
is  a  fierce  and  warlike  Arab  tribe,  bordering  on  the  Kabyles,  with 
whom  they  often  combined  for  attacks  on  the  French.  But  since 
the  Kabyle  chief,  Ben-Zamun,  has  retired  from  an  unsuccessfid 
struggle  to  his  fine  farm  on  the  Atlas,  the  Isser  gave  up  the  holy 
war.  In  1837,  they  had  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  the 
French,  and  were  then  often  infested  by  the  Kabyle  mountaineers. 
The  poor  Beni- Issers  found  themselves  during  the  wars  always 
in  a  most  difficult  position.  The  French  easily  made  razzias  on 
their  territory  when  they  sided  with  Abd-el-Kader ;  and  when 
they  had  submitted  to  the  French,  the  Kabyles  from  the  neigh- 
bouring mountains  made  inroads,  and  drove  their  cattle  away,  in 
order  to  punish  them  for  their  alliance  with  the  unbelievers. 

The  territory  of  the  Kashnas  begins  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  river  Korso.  It  is  swampy  in  the  north,  but,  towards  the 
south,  rich  in  pasture-grounds  and  olive- groves ;  it  reaches  the 
foot  of  the  Atlas,  and  is  covered  there  with  forests.  The  tribe  of 
the  Kashna  carries  on  a  considerable  trade  of  wild  oil  with 
Algiers,  from  whence  it  is  exported  to  Europe.  The  next  terri- 
tory is  that  of  the  Beni-Musa.  It  is  the  smallest,  but  most  fertile 
and  most  populous  portion  of  the  plain.  Above  100  Arab  farms 
are  cultivated  here,  each  of  them  is  provided  with  a  stone-build- 


THE  NEIGHBOURROOD  OF  ALGIERS.  49 

ing.  This  territory  abounds  in  clear  springs  and  green  trees  ;  it 
extends  to  the  banks  of  the  Araj.  The  territory  between  that 
river  and  the  Massafran  is  called  Beni-Khalil ;  it  is  peopled  by 
unruly  tribes.  The  centre  of  the  territory,  which  is  likewise  the 
centre  of  the  plain,  has  been  occupied  by  the  French  camp  of 
Buffarik.  It  begins  to  be  developed  into  a  city,  which,  from  its 
central  position  between  the  mountain  and  the  capital,  on  the  way 
to  Belida,  has  augury  of  future  greatness.*  But  agriculture  is 
of  very  slow  progress  here,  as  it  is  not  the  agricultural  population 
which  emigrates  from  France,  but  the  paupers  and  speculators 
from  the  towns,  who,  unaccustomed  as  they  are  to  the  hard  work 
of  tilling  the  ground,  wish  to  live  by  commerce  and  jobs  in  the 
cities.  The  population  of  that  territory  is  estimated  at  about 
three  thousand  families.  They  are  very  quarrelsome  and  riotous; 
yet  the  Hajutes,  their  neighbours,  despise  them  as  cowards. 
Several  of  the  Kaids  of  the  Beni-Khalils,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  the  French,  were  murdered,  or  forced  to  join  the  hostile  Arabs ; 
and  the  attempt  to  keep  them  in  subjection,  by  giving  the  dignity 
of  Kaid  to  Mr.  Verge,  a  French  renegado  officer,  who  spoke  the 
Arabic  perfectly,  likewise  failed.  It  was  only  after  1846  that 
they  ceased  to  be  troublesome.  Beyond  the  Massafran  is  the 
largest  territory,  "  El  Sebt,"  comprising,  besides  the  country  of 
the  Hajutes,  the  northern  slope  of  the  Atlas,  inhabited  by  the 
Kabyle  tribes  of  the  Muzzaia  and  of  the  Summata,  and  extends 
southwards  to  the  city  of  Miliana,  westwards  to  Shershel,  north- 
wards to  the  sea  and  to  the  plateau  of  Algiers.  The  plain  is 
here  inhabited  by  Hajutes,  and  by  three  small  tribes  which  came 
from  the  Sahara,  the  Zanakras,  the  Ulid-Hamidans,  and  the  Beni- 
Ellal;  they  have  been  nearly  entirely  absorbed  by  the  Hajutes. 
The  lake  of  Alula,  a  sheet  of  fresh  water  of  no  great  extent, 
which  in  summer  can  be  forded,  and  near  to  it  the  Kubber  el 
Kummiah  (tomb  of  the  Christian  lady),  a  pyramidal  temple,  one 
hundred  and  forty  feet  high,  are  situated  in  this  territory,  and 

*  The  population  of  Buffarik  in  1852  amounted  to  2019  European  colonist! 
and  17  natives. 

D 


50  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS. 

gave  rise  to  many  romantic  traditions  and  tales  among  the  inha- 
bitants, who  seem  to  be  pre-eminently  addicted  to  poetry  and 
tales.  With  the  Zanakra,  for  instance,  there  are  yet  many  tradi- 
tions alive  relating  to  the  conquest  of  Spain,  and  these  nomades 
are  proud  of  the  fame  of  their  chivalrous  civilized  ancestors. 

The  native  population  of  all  the  five  territories  of  the  Metija 
amounts  to  about  ten  thousand  families,  the  majority  of  whom  live 
on  the  mountain  slopes  which  border  the  plain  to  the  south.  On 
six  days  in  the  week  there  is  a  fair  held  in  the  Metija,  the  Friday 
being  here  religiously  observed  by  the  Mussulmans  as  a  day  of 
rest.  On  Saturday,  the  fair  is  held  in  the  Hajute  country;  Sun- 
day, it  is  close  to  Belida;  Monday,  near  Buffarik;  Tuesday,  at 
the  farm  Mussaia;  Wednesday,  at  El-Arbak,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain;  Thursday,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hamiss,  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Kashnas.  The  fair  of  El-Arbak  is  mostly  visited  by 
the  Arabs — that  of  Buffarik  by  the  European  traders.  The  place 
of  the  fair  of  Buffarik  is  marked  by  a  well,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  the  Kaid  (chief)  and  the  Kadi  (judge)  of  the  tribe  Beni- 
Khalil,  pitch  their  tents,  in  order  to  settle  their  disputes  and 
quarrels.  The  Moorish  traders  of  Belida  are  commonly  the  first 
on  the  spot;  they  pitch  their  small  white  pyramidal  tents  over 
night  on  Sunday  evening,  and  unpack  their  merchandise,  but 
they  do  not  sell  on  that  day.  The  Beduins  and  Kabyles  encamp 
in  open  air,  surrounded  by  their  camels.  The  fair  begins  with 
sunrise  on  Monday,  and  lasts  to  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. The  crowd  of  buyers  and  sellers  amounts  after  harvest  to 
about  three  thousand  persons:  nevertheless,  strict  order  is  pre- 
served; every  class  of  sellers  has  its  traditional  stand.  The 
herdsmen,  with  their  sheepskins  full  of  milk,  their  baskets  of 
eggs  and  fowls,  their  stores  of  meat  and  live  cattle,  form  the 
extensive  outward  row.  Their  cattle  are  small,  but  have  large 
horns ;  the  milk,  butter,  and  meat  of  Barbary,  is  much  inferior  to 
that  of  Europe.  The  sheep  are  large,  well  fed,  and  yield  good 
wool.  Next  to  the  cattle-dealers,  follow  the  corn  and  fruit- 
merchants  in  a  long  row,  with  baskets  of  oranges,  pomegranates, 


THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  ALGIERS.  51 

dates,*  neater-melons,  cactus-figs,  vegetables,  and  large  heaps  of 
wheat  before  them,  which  they  sell  in  detail.  The  tobacco- 
dealers  are  all  Kabyles  from  beyond  the  neck  of  the  Atlas — all 
tall  and  lean,  with  fair  complexion  and  long  hair,  which  they  do 
not  shave;  they  form  a  marked  contrast  to  the  Moors  and  Beduins. 
In  the  centre  of  the  market-place  are  the  stalls  of  the  shopkeepers 
from  the  city,  full  of  woven  cloths,  carpets,  ribbons,  and  other 
articles  for  dress  and  ornament,  especially  coral  necklaces  and 
European  commodities,  with  which  the  Moors  of  Algiers  furnish 
the  inhabitants,  buying  in  return  the  products  of  the  rural  popu- 
lation. The  French  officers  buy  here  game,  and  the  privates 
turtles,  for  their  kitchen.  French  money  has  no  general  circu- 
lation among  the  natives,  the  Spanish  dollar  being  the  principal 
currency.  Jews  and  Moors  are,  therefore,  likewise  at  hand  to 
exchange  the  French  money.  After  harvest,  when  the  fair  is 
most  thronged,  the  spectacle  is  still  more  picturesque.  Great 
fires  are  lighted  in  the  vicinity  of  the  w'ell — coffee  is  constantly 
boiling,  and  hot  cakes  baking  in  fat,  for  sale  to  the  hungry 
public  —  bands  of  singers,  musicians,  and  jugglers,  amuse  the 
curious — dancers  perform  most  eccentric  antics — the  drum  is 
beaten,  the  guitar  played,  and  the  reed  sounds  its  very  unmelodi- 
ous  whistle,  with  which  the  Beduin  seems  to  be  delighted.  His 
attention,  however,  is  principally  captivated  by  the  minstrels, 
who  partly  sing,  partly  tell  long  tales  and  ballads,  interspersed 
with  pieces  of  classic  Arab  poetry;  their  audience  seldom  fail  to 
throw  some  copper  coin  into  their  cowl.  Gambling  is  likewise 
going  on;  the  Beduin  of  Algiers  is  in  this  respect  as  depraved  as 
the  Parisian  of  the  Palais- Royal.* 

The  scene  changes  in  the  evening.  The  Moors  strike  their 
tents,  pack  their  wares,  and  everj^body  returns  home.  The  way 
to  Belida  and  to  Coleah  is  lined  by  a  procession  of  white-clad 
persons,  all  riding  on  mules,  asses,  and  horses,  a  few  on  camels, 


*  The  learned  German  Doctor  might  have  likewise  said,  as  depraved  as  the 
Germans  of  Tacitus  and  the  North  American  Indians. 


52  RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH. 

as  it  is  not  considered  respectable  here  to  travel  on  foot.  At 
dusk,  the  bustle  of  the  fair  is  followed  by  deep  silence,  and  the 
crowd  has  vanished,  like  the  gaudy  glitter  of  an  Arab  tale. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RASSOTA — REGHAIA — RUSGONIA — BELIDA — COLEAH. 

In  the  time  of  the  Deys,  the  government  had  considerable  domains 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  Regency,  which  were  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal sources  of  the  state  revenue.  Their  number  has  not  yet 
been  ascertained.  The  French  destroyed  the  old  administration, 
without  caring  much  for  the  former  sources  of  revenue,  and  sent 
the  ministers  and  officials  of  the  Dey,  who  could  have  given  infor- 
mation, into  exile  with  all  the  other  Turks.  As  it  was  uncertain 
whether  France  would  keep  the  conquered  country,  it  was  only 
the  treasure  and  the  moveables  which  attracted  the  cupidity  of 
the  new  rulers. 

It  was  not  until  the  treasures  of  the  citadel,  those  old  Spanish 
dollars  and  gold  pieces,  had  been  ransacked,  that  Marshal  Bour- 
mont  remembered  the  splendid  country-seats  of  the  Dey,  which 
were  in  sight  from  the  town,  and  the  French  paid  a  visit  to  them, 
in  order  to  remove  the  herds  and  studs  formerly  owned  by  the 
Turkish  government.  But  it  was  too  late;  Ahmet  Bey  of  Con- 
stantine  had  sufficient  time,  on  his  return,  to  plunder  the  domains: 
he  was  not  molested  by  the  French ;  the  farm-agents  of  the  govern- 
ment (old  Turkish  officers,  who  got  those  appointments  as  a  recom- 
pense of  their  former  bravery)  had  gone  with  him.  It  was  only 
by  and  by  that  the  domains  were  discovered  by  the  French ;  and 
even  until  now  the  reclaiming  of  the  government  establishments 
is  not  completed,  though  the  Bureaux  Arabes  exert  themselves 
sufficiently  in  this  respect.  The  most  important  of  those  farms 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers  are,  Hussein-Pasha,  now  the 
ferme  module  of  the  French;  Suk-Ali,  near  Buffarik;  Rhegai^, 


RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLE  AH.  53 

the  property  of  Mr.  Mercier;  and  Rassota,  in  1837,  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Polish  Prince  Mir. 

Rassota  is  at  about  twenty-five  miles  distance  to  the  east  of 
Algiers,  between  the  rivers  Araj  and  Hamiss.  The  country  is 
picturesque,  the  soil  rich  and  unhealthy.  The  banks  of  both 
rivers  are  covered  with  bushes,  and  surrounded  by  luxuriant 
meadows,  Arab  pasture  grounds.  General  Voirol,  in  1834,  settled 
the  Aribes  here.  ITiis  Arab  tribe  had  formerly  inhabited  the 
plain  of  Hamza,  beyond  the  Atlas,  but  it  was  expelled  by  the 
mighty  tribe  of  the  Ulid-Maadi,  and  was  dispersed  in  all  direc- 
tions. Many  of  them  came  to  the  plain  of  Metija ;  but  as  they 
were  not  possessed  of  any  defined  territory,  they  had  to  live  as 
Bobbers  and  interlopers,  and  were  a  real  curse  to  all  their  neigh- 
bours. General  Voirol  united  the  different  portions  of  the  tribe, 
gave  them  land  around  Rassota  as  their  future  territory,  and 
appointed  Ben-Zecri,  an  Arab  devoted  to  the  French,  their  chief. 
They  serve  now  as  irregular  Spahis  in  the  French  army,  are 
faithful  and  gallant,  and  happier  than  they  ever  were.  Living 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Algiers,  they  sell  their  products  at 
the  best  prices,  and  yet  many  of  them  have  returned  to  their 
original  home,  the  plain  of  Hamza. 

After  the  settling  of  the  Aribes,  the  handsome  farm-house  of 
Rassota,  and  a  few  thousand  acres  of  arable  land,  remained  at  the 
disposal  of  the  French  government,  which,  in  a  moment  of  gene- 
rosity, gave  it  to  a  Polish  refugee.  Prince  Mirski,  who,  on  his 
arrival  in  Africa,  changed  his  name  into  Mir,  dropping  the  Polish 
termination,  and  assimilating  the  sound  to  the  Arabic  Emir.  The 
heroism  of  this  prince  in  the  Polish  revolution  was  not  very  con- 
spicuous ;  but  it  was  sufficient  that  he  was  a  Pole,  in  order  that 
the  measure  of  the  government  should  meet  with  great  approbation 
from  the  public,  though  it  was  regretted  that  such  a  boon  was  not 
bestowed  on  one  of  those  Poles  who  had  done  more  for  their 
country  and  lost  more  in  the  struggle  than  Prince  Mirski. 

The  new  proprietor  came  to  Algiers  full  of  great  schemes  of 
colonization.     There  were  many  who  dreamt  already  of  a  new 


.54  RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEA^. 

Poland  In  Africa,  and  who  thought  that  the  poor  refugees,  huntecl 
down  all  over  the  continent  of  Europe,  would  find  here  a  peaceful 
asylum.  But  their  enthusiasm  was  soon  chilled,  when  they  found 
that  Prince  Mir  had  more  schemes  in  his  head  than  dollars  in  his 
pocket.  As  a  refugee,  he  had,  of  course,  no  capital ;  and  since 
the  French  government  gave  him  only  uncultivated  soil,  but  no 
money  for  colonization,  the  Prince  sought  a  loan.  But  at  Mar- 
seilles he  found  no  credit;  the  rich  city,  which  yearly  sends  above 
three  hundred  ships  to  Algiers,  did  not  choose  to  risk  a  sacrifice 
for  the  welfare  of  the  colony.  Nevertheless,  the  much  poorer 
city  of  Toulon  was  more  generous.  A  company  of  merchants 
here,  of  which  the  Messrs.  Suchet  were  the  chairmen,  advanced 
considerable  sums  to  Prince  Mir,  without  having  any  other  secu- 
rity than  the  steppes  of  a  new  country  and  the  word  of  an  exile. 

Prince  Mir  established  himself  in  summer,  1835,  in  the  great 
stone  building  of  Rassota,  which  had  been  considerably  damaged 
by  the  ravages  of  Ahmet  Bey,  and  was,  of  course,  entirely  out  of 
repair.  He  had  it  refitted  in  the  comfortable  and  useful  Moorish 
style,  with  court-yards,  terraces,  and  colonnades.  On  the  top  of 
the  house  he  reared  a  gigantic  cross,  which  gave  no  offence  to 
the  Arabs,  since  they  have  respect  for  the  religious  symbols  of 
other  nations,  and,  on  the  whole,  like  zealous  Christians  better 
than  sceptical  unbelievers.  The  ground-floor  became  the  store- 
house for  victuals,  tools,  and  arms ;  in  the  first  floor  was  the 
splendid  dining-room,  often  visited  by  guests  from  the  city,  from 
the  plain,  and  from  the  mountain.  The  scenery,  seen  from  the 
terrace,  was  most  striking;  in  the  west,  the  sea  and  Algiers;  to 
the  east,  the  Metija,  and  the  Atlas;  the  building  being  raised  on 
one  of  the  last  spurs  of  the  plateau,  where  it  slopes  down  into  the 
plain.  Close  to  the  residence  of  the  Prince,  several  smaller  build- 
ings were  fitted  up;  one  for  a  school,  where  instruction  was  given 
in  three  languages,  in  German,  French,  and  Arabic ;  another  for 
a  dispensary,  where  a  German  physician  cured  the  Arabs  gra- 
tuitously. Others  again  as  slaughter-house,  bake-houses,  and 
dwellings  for  the  labourers,  among  whom  the  Prince  had  likewise 


RASSOTA,  EEGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH.  55 

smiths,  tailors,  joiners,  carpenters,  &c.     Of  course  I  speak  of  the 
past ;  this  establishment  failed  soon,  and  exists  no  longer. 

I  visited  Rassota  for  the  first  time  in  November,  ]836,  and 
liked  it  very  much ;  I  thought  I  saw  here  a  model-colony,  equally 
beneficial  to  the  proprietor  and  to  the  country.  Large  fields  had  al- 
ready been  tilled ;  an  extensive  orchard  was  studded  with  thousands 
of  fruit-trees ;  a  good  race  of  cows  was  grazing  araund,  and  the 
tinkling  of  the  bells  of  a  herd  of  sheep  was  heard  in  the  distance. 
But  when  I  visited  it  again,  four  months  later,  all  was  changed, 
the  fields  were  again  wild — the  cattle  and  sheep  sold — the  Ger- 
man labourers  had  gone  away,  and  the  hospitable  Pole,  who  had 
lived  here,  both  as  a  European  Prince  and  an  Arab  Emir,  hid 
himself  in  Algiers,  in  a  miserable  hut,  a  bankrupt  beggar. 

Colonization  in  Algiers  is  only  profitable  to  those  who  are 
either  very  rich  or  very  poor.  A  colonist  with  a  small  capital 
must  fail.  A  millionaire,  who  buys  land  here,  and  has  it  tilled, 
and  judiciously  administered,  is  sure  to  succeed.  He  can  wait 
for  a  few  years,  until  everything  gets  into  its  regular  way,  until 
the  ground  is  cleared  piecemeal,  and  until  the  olive-tree  begins 
to  yield  fruit.  The  poor  peasant  may  likewise  thrive,  as  wages 
are  high,  he  can  easily  save  half  of  his  earning,  and  in  this 
way  can  soon  buy  some  property  from  his  accumulated  savings. 
People  of  moderate  fortune,  who  do  not  till  the  ground  with  their 
own  hands,  and  who  intrust  others  with  the  sale  of  their  products, 
commonly  become  bankrupts,  as  the  first  cultivator  requires  an 
enormous  out-lay,  wages  are  high,  and  the  crops  of  the  first  years 
little  remunerative. 

Prince  Mir  had  got  a  considerable  capital  by  the  advances  of 
the  Toulon-houses;  but  he  did  not  calculate  how  far  it  could 
carry  him;  his  plans  were  all  on  too  large  a  scale,  though  many 
of  his  measures  were  really  judicious,  and  he  proved  by  his 
arrangements  that  he  knew  how  colonization  is  to  be  managed  on 
a  grand  scale.  His  first  care  was  to  make  friends  with  his  Arab 
neighbours.  He,  therefore,  visited  their  encampments,  and  par- 
took of  their  kuskusu  under  the  dark  tents  of  camel-hair,  inviting 


56  EASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLE  AH. 

them  in  turn  to  his  castle,  where  he  treated  them  with  all  the 
delicacies  of  French  cookery.  I  was  several  times  present  at 
such  dinners,  wdth  Beduin  chiefs,  clad  in  their  fine  muslin  shirt, 
with  the  snow-white  woollen  Burniis  over  it,  and  the  camel-hair 
rope  twisted  around  their  head  in  shape  of  a  turban.  I  made 
here  the  acquaintance  of  many  chiefs — of  El-Arbi-Ben-Kaja,  the 
Kaid  of  the.Khashna,  an  old  pious  Mussulman, — of  Ben-Zecri, 
the  Kaid  of  the  Aribes,  who  is  always  kind  and  dignified, — of 
Ali-Ben-Smati,  a  Sheikh  of  the  same  tribe,  who  liked  to  talk 
about  women,  and  to  drink  strong  brandy;  and  of  many  other 
Arabs.  Most  of  the  European  guests  spoke  broken  Arabic,  and 
by  the  aid  of  a  Moorish  interpreter,  the  conversation  was  carried 
on  without  difficulty.  The  principal  topic  was  business, — and 
many  bargains  were  concluded  at  table, — then,  again,  jokes  and 
talk  about  the  good  things  of  the  world  enlivened  the  company. 
Sometimes  religion,  politics,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
country,  were  likewise  discussed ;  and  we  had  many  an  oppor- 
tunity of  admiring  the  dignity,  the  sharp  perception,  and  the 
wild  poetry  of  the  Arabs.  All  of  the  chiefs  were  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  their  nation,  and  especially  of  their  tribe.  Ben- 
Zecri,  for  instance,  often  made  allusion  to  the  chivalrous  fame 
of  his  ancestors  at  the  court  of  Granada.  I  was  peculiarly  struck 
by  the  appearance  of  a  fair-haired  Marabut  of  uncommonly  tall 
size.  His  beard  was  yellow,  and  his  eyes  blue,  his  features  and 
deportment  most  agreeable.  I  asked  him  to  what  tribe  he  be- 
longed, and  he  answered  with  the  expression  of  cordiality,  "  j 
am  a  son  of  your  fathers;"  and  explained  it  by  saying,  he  was  a 
Kabyle  from  the  interior,  and  his  tribe  had  come  from  the  country 
of  the  Rummis.  Probably  he  alluded  to  the  tradition  of  the 
Vandal  origin  of  the  Kabyles  on  the  Auras  plateau.  He  had 
been  educated  at  the  hermitage  of  Sidi-Ali-Ben-Aissa,  the  most 
celebrated  of  all  the  Kabyle  Marabuts,  who  lived  on  the  Jurjura 
mountain,  and  was  buried  at  Flissa,  in  a  magnificent  teanple. 
The  acquaintance  of  the  chiefs  was  very  advantageous  to  me  in 
my  rambles  through  the  country.     But  nobody  felt  more  happy 


RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  KUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH.  o7 

at  those  parties  than  Prince  Mir  himself,  who  thought  that  he  had 
done  something  for  the  civilization  of  the  Arabs,  when  he  had  in- 
duced them  to  make  use  of  knives  and  forks,  and  to  drink  wine  and 
spirits.  The  poor  man  did  not  dream  that,  four  months  later,  he 
would  be  compelled  to  sell  his  plate  in  order  to  escape  imprison- 
ment for  debt. 

This  Polish  nobleman,  by  his  hospitality,  won  golden  opinions 
with  the  Arabs :  nor  did  he  require  the  detachment  of  French 
soldiers  which  had  been  granted  to  him  by  the  government.  His 
workmen  rambled  over  the  plain  without  ever  being  attacked. 
Since  the  settlement  of  the  Aribes  and  the  establishment  of  Ras- 
Bota,  the  country  east  of  Algiers,  which  formerly  was  very  unsafe, 
became  the  resort  of  sportsmen,  who  here  hunted  the  wild-boar. 
Yet  the  Prince  did  not  deal  with  his  German  workmen  in  an 
equally  judicious  way.  He  was  rough  and  imperious.  The  Ger- 
man labourers  submitted  to  his  haughty  manners,  and  even  to 
his  horse- whip,  without  complaint ;  but  they  took  their  revenge 
by  defrauding  him  in  every  way.  They  confessed  at  a  later  period 
to  me,  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  crops  were  stolen  by 
them,  the  surveying  agent  having  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy, 
and  having  appropriated  to  himself  half  of  the  money  from  the 
products  sold  in  the  market  of  Algiers.  Had  Prince  Mir  treated 
his  German  peasants  kindly,  the  robbery  could  not  have  re- 
mained undetected  ;  but  no  informer  was  found  amongst  them, — 
the  haughtiness  of  the  lord  had  leagued  all  his  labourers  against 
him.  After  thrashing  was  done,  the  Prince,  to  his  utter  dismay,  dis- 
covered his  insolvency.  His  plans  had  failed,  and  he  had  to  give 
up  his  property  to  his  creditors.  But  his  German  peasants  now 
met  with  the  punishment  of  their  dishonesty :  nearly  all  of  them 
had  claims  for  wages  in  arrear  which  they  could  not  recover ; 
besides,  they  at  once  became  homeless,  as  they  were  ejected  by 
the  creditors  of  the  Prince,  and  had  to  disperse  to  other  planta- 
tions, where  they  had  smaller  wages,  and  no  opportunity  of  steal- 
ing. The  house  of  the  Messrs.  Suchet  assumed  the  management 
of  the  African  establishment. 


58  EASSOTA,  EEGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH. 

When,  in  March  1837,  I  again  visited  the  castle,  I  found  it 
silent  and  dismal.  The  kingfisher  preyed  undisturbed  on  the 
fishes  of  the  great  pond  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  house ;  the 
jackals  carried  away  the  poultry  from  the  court-yard.  The  houses 
of  the  labourers  were  empty ;  a  single  French  veteran  guarded 
them.  But  in  the  castle  itself  I  found,  to  my  great  astonishment, 
the  Sheikhs  and  Marabuts  at  table  with  Mr.  Suchet.  They  had 
become  accustomed  to  Rassota,  and  did  not  care  whether  the  pro- 
prietor was  a  prince  or  a  merchant,  as  long  as  coffee,  tobacco,  and 
good  fare,  were  offered  in  the  house.  Mr.  Suchet  leased  out  a 
portion  of  the  estate  to  the  Aribes,  the  remainder  he  had  culti- 
vated by  daily  labourers,  but  only  to  the  extent  of  the  capital 
which  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  invest,  avoiding  the  Germans, 
giving  preference  to  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards. 

Reghaia  was,  during  my  stay,  the  most  important  plantation 
in  the  vicinity  of  Algiers.  It  ia  about  thirteen  French  leagues 
north-east  of  the  city.  Since  1 835,  it  has  been  the  property  of 
Mr.  Mercier ;  but  several  other  French  capitalists  have  an  inter- 
est in  it.  The  establishment  is  conducted  in  a  different  manner 
from  that  of  Rassota.  There  is  no  need  here  either  of  capital, 
or  of  a  strict  superintendence.  Reghaia  is  situated  on  the  banks 
of  a  river  of  that  name,  which  is  not  a  torrent,  like  the  Hamiss  or 
Araj,  but  slow  and  deep  like  a  canal.  The  farm-house  of  Reghaia 
is  of  considerable  extent,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  solid  wall,  which 
is  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  an  attack  of  Arabs  ;  sixty  resolute 
men  are  able  to  defend  it  against  500  natives.  It  contains  suf- 
ficient room  for  the  dwellings  of  the  proprietor  and  his  labourers, 
as  well  as  for  store-houses,  stables  for  20.0  horses,  and  great  herds 
of  cattle.  Mr.  Mercier  has  imported  superior  cattle  of  the  best 
breed,  and  was  therefore  much  aggrieved  when  the  Arabs  carried 
away  a  portion  of  them.  As  there  is  plenty  of  wood  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, Mr.  Mercier  sends  charcoal  to  Algiers,  carried  by  boats 
on  the  river  to  the  sea,  and  receives  his  commodities  from  thence 
in  the  same  way ;  only  during  the  season  of  storms  the  transport 
is  carried  on  by  means  of  camels.     The  country  is  exceedingly 


RASSOTA,  KEanAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH.  59 

well  watered,  and  therefore  very  fertile ;  the  fruit-trees  thrive  un- 
commonly well,  and  the  old  orange- groves  yield  a  rich  crop.  It  i» 
principally  to  horticulture  that  Mr.  Mercier  has  directed  his  atten- 
tion. He  does  not  grow  more  wheat  than  is  required  for  the  subsis- 
tence of  the  colonists  settled  on  the  plantation,  principally  since  the 
clearing  of  ground  is  excessively  costly  here,  where  the  luxuriance 
of  vegetable  life  immediately  covers  the  fields  with  a  profusion  of 
wild  shrubs.  The  proprietor,  therefore,  tries  rather  to  rear  tropical 
plants,  the  crops  of  which  are  more  remunerative  than  corn.  He 
looks  to  the  cotton-plant,  the  indigo,  the  cochineal,  the  olive-tree, 
and  the  mulberry,  for  his  profits.  As  to  cotton,  he  has  fully  suc- 
ceeded in  respect  to  quality,  for  it  is  as  good  as  the  Egyptian.  The 
olive  must  thrive  here,  where  the  wild  olive-trees  grow  as  large  as 
the  northern  oaks ;  and  though  the  oil  they  yield  is  of  inferior 
quality,  yet,  on  account  of  its  very  low  price,  it  is  exported  to 
Europe  to  be  used  for  common  lamps.  Now,  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood of  Algiers  is  full  of  grafted  young  olive-trees,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that,  in  this  commodity,  Algeria  will  soon  seriously  com- 
pete with  Italy  and  Southern  France.  Mr.  Mercier  has  likewise 
planted  many  thousands  of  mulberry-trees,  and  the  silk- worm  cul- 
ture will  probably  succeed  well,  since  the  mulberry,  as  for  instance 
in  the  garden  of  the  late  Dey,  attains  a  considerable  size.  The 
Moors  long  ago  produced  silk.  An  attempt  was  made  to  rear  the 
silk- worm  on  the  tree  itself.  But  though  the  cold  nights  did  not 
injure  them,  the  birds  picked  them  off  the  leaves.  Around  Algiers, 
at  least  1,000,000  of  mulberry  seedlings  have  been  planted.  The 
experiment  of  cultivating  sugar-cane  has  likewise  succeeded  at 
Reghaia,  in  spite  of  the  rough  winters.  Indigo  failed :  the  plant 
grew  to  a  great  height,  but  yielded  very  little  material  for  dye. 
The  cochineal  culture  also  failed ;  for  the  insects  died  on  the  plant, 
being  too  much  exposed  to  the  northern  winds.  The  wild  cactus 
of  Barbary  is  only  a  variety  of  the  nopal  of  Mexico,  and  the  plants 
imported  from  Andalusia,  where  cochineal  is  reared,  succeeded  very 
well ;  but  a  spot  should  be  chosen  for  them  in  the  country  of  the 
Metija,  where  they  might  escape  the  influence  of  the  north- wind. 


GO  EASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH. 

I  visited  the  ruined  site  of  the  ancient  Roman  city  Rusgonium, 
at  about  fifty  miles  east  of  Algiers,  on  Cape  Matifu,  with  Mr. 
Adrian  Berbrugger,  late  Secretary  of  Marshal  Clauzel,  and  Keeper 
of  the  Library  and  Museum  of  Algiers.  In  1837,  the  Government 
placed  certain  funds  at  his  disposal  to  make  excavations.  The 
ruins  are  of  great  extent,  biit  of  little  importance.  Only  one  build- 
ing is  still  imposing  by  reason  of  the  grandeur  of  its  remains.  We 
could  easily  make  out  the  ancient  walls  of  the  city,  which,  to  the 
east  and  north,  are  still  pretty  well  preserved.  There  is,  besides, 
a  tower  traceable,  but  its  form  is  not  antique ;  it  seems  that  in 
later  times  it  has  been  transformed  into  a  Christian  church.  The 
material  of  these  ruins  is  porphyry  from  Cape  Matifu,  bad  bricks, 
excellent  cement,  white  marble  from  the  Atlas,  and  granite, 
which  I  could  not  trace  anywhere  in  Algeria.  The  Sheikh  of 
the  Kashnas,  Omar-Ben-el-Bedawi,  told  me  that  there  was  a 
tradition,  according  to  which  the  city  had  been  deserted  in  con- 
sequence of  a  famine ;  and  there  was  an  inscription  found  here 
which  mentioned  the  occurrence  of  a  year  of  dearth  and  famine. 
The  Sheikh  would  not  believe  that  we  are  not  treasure- seekers, 
and  told  us  of  the  method  by  which  the  Arabs  try  to  discover  trea- 
sures :  some  mysterious  words  are  to  be  written  on  a  piece  of 
paper,  which  is  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  winds ;  and  wherever  the 
paper  remains  lying  on  the  ground,  there  is  the  place  for  digging. 

The  result  of  Berbrugger' s  excavations  did  not  answer  his  ex- 
pectations. Many  fragments  of  statues  and  reliefs  were  dis- 
covered ;  but  all  of  them  either  greatly  damaged,  or  of  no  artis- 
tical  value.  The  period  of  the  bloom  of  the  Province  of  Africa 
was  not  that  of  the  bloom  of  art.  Yet  many  rare  gold  coins  were 
bought  from  the  Arabs  of  the  neighbourhood,  all  of  them  belong- 
ing to  the  period  of  the  Eastern  Roman  Empire. 

The  city  of  Belida  is  only  at  four  hours'  distance  from  Buffarik. 
Yet  the  insecurity  of  the  Metija  was  so  great  in  the  first  years  of 
the  occupations,  that  it  was  rarely  visited  by  Frenchmen,  except  on 
military  expeditions,  since  the  Hajutes  and  Beni  Salah  waylaid 
any  travelling  foreigner.     Even  well-armed  sportsmen  did  not 


RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLE  AH.  61 

dare  to  approach  the  Hajute  country.  Belida  is  situated  on  the 
southern  border  of  the  great  plain,  nearly  at  the  foot  of  the  Atlas. 
A  broad  ring  of  orange,  lemon,  and  pomegranate  orchards,  always 
adorned  by  golden  fruits,  surrounds  the  city,  and  hides  it  nearly 
altogether  by  a  luxuriant  canopy  of  leaves.  Nothing  but  the 
minarets  of  the  mosques,  and  the  highest  terraces  of  some  houses, 
are  seen  above  the  groves  :  the  town  is  visible  only  when  we  stand 
close  under  its  scattered  walls.  Belida  was,  up  to  1825,  a  thriving 
Moorish  city,  inhabited  by  wealthy  farmers,  shopkeepers,  and 
mechanics  ;  but  a  series  of  misfortunes  has  since  visited  it.  A 
fearful  earthquake  destroyed  the  principal  part  of  the  place  in 
1825  :  all  the  mosques,  and  many  houses,  fell  down,  and  the 
ruins  remained  in  the  streets  up  to  1840,  for  the  frightened  and 
superstitious  inhabitants  had  not  the  courage  to  remove  the  traces 
of  Allah's  anger.  They  resolved  to  leave  the  doomed  spot,  and 
to  build  a  new  city.  New  Belida,  about  a  mile  farther  north  in 
the  plain,  where  they  could  likewise  avoid  the  musket-balls  of 
the  Kabyles  of  the  Atlas,  Old  Belida  having  been  within  their 
range ;  and  as  the  citizens  were  peaceful  and  unenergetic,  they 
were  often  exposed  to  the  threats  and  violence  of  the  robber- 
tribes  of  the  Atlas,  who  levied  black  mail  on  them.  But  scarcely 
were  the  square  city  walls  of  New  Belida  raised,  when  they  again 
gave  up  the  place  on  the  prophecy  of  some  Marabut.  From  the 
time  of  the  French  occupation  of  Algiers,  their  misfortunes  were 
endless :  too  weak  to  defend  themselves,  they  were  not  spared 
either  by  Frenchmen  or  Kabyles.  In  November  1830,  the  French 
garrison  left  here,  was  attacked  by  the  mountaineers,  a  street- 
fight  ensued,  and  the  French,  in  the  belief  that  the  citizens  had 
a  secret  understanding  with  the  enemy,  made  dreadful  havoc 
among  them.  The  inhabitants  fled  to  Algiers,  but  soon  re- 
turned again  to  their  home,  which  is  the  most  charming  spot  in 
Algeria,  being  blessed  by  nature  with  all  the  magnificence  of  a 
southern  climate.  The  population  formerly  amounted  to  about 
7000  persons,  but  it  continued  to  decrease  up  to  the  pacification 
of  the  country  in  1846.     As  Belida  is  so  near  to  Algiers,  it 


62  RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH. 

could  not  join  in  any  war  against  the  French,  and  was  therefore 
often  ransacked  by  the  Kabyles,  the  French  not  occupying  the 
city  permanently  before  1838.  The  inhabitants  are  industrious, 
and  chiefly  shoemakers.  They  manufacture  the  high  yellow  and 
red  boots  of  the  Arab  chiefs,  and  the  light  slippers  which  are  in 
common  use  at  Algiers. 

J  accompanied  General  Damremont,  in  1837,  on  a  military 
expedition  to  Belida.  The  General  humanely  wished  to  spare 
the  inhabitants,  and  therefore  preferred  to  lose  several  hours  by 
mancEuvring  around  the  orange-groves,  and  dispelling  the  Kabyles 
by  successive  attacks,  rather  than  march  straight  to  the  city,  and 
carry  the  struggle  into  the  streets.  On  the  29th  of  April,  we  en- 
tered Belida.  The  meadows  around  were  covered  with  yellow 
flowers;  the  orange  and  pomegranate  trees  were  encircled  by 
creepers  ;  many  springs  and  rivulets  streamed  across  the  gardens, 
and  plenty  of  tortoises  crept  on  their  banks.  We  had  Neapolitan 
officers  among  us,  and  they  assured  me,  that  all  the  Edens  of 
Sicily  were  surpassed  by  the  gardens  of  Belida,  which  for  so  long 
time  had  been  ravaged  by  the  fiendish  Kabyles. 

We  climbed  up  the  mountain  south  of  Belida,  following  two 
brigades  who  had  occupied  the  first  peaks,  and  driven  the  moun- 
taineers out  of  their  hiding-places,  burning  down  their  straw  huts. 
Close  behind  the  city,  the  Wad-Sidi-el-Kebir,  a  small  river  falls 
from  the  steep  cliffs,  and  forms  several  handsome  cascades.  We 
reached  only  the  middle  of  the  mountain,  where  the  Zuaves  were 
posted  who  formed  the  vanguard  of  the  French.  On  the  higher 
tops  stood  the  Kabyles,  and  though  too  far  distant  to  inflict 
serious  damage,  they  incessantly  discharged  their  long  muskets 
towards  us.  The  first  chain  of  the  Atlas  is  cultivated  nearly  to 
half  its  height ;  it  is  everywhere  covered  with  a  rich  soil,  and 
partially  well  wooded ;  only  on  the  top  the  rocks  break  through 
the  black  earth.  The  characteristic  features  of  the  Atlas  are  the 
frequent  ravines,  covered  with  thickets,  and  the  hills  which  lie 
against  the  mountains,  and  form  a  kind  of  stairs  to  the  steeper 
mountains. 


EASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH.  63 

The  next  Kabyle  tribe  above  Belida,  are  the  Beni-Salah;  they 
are  warlike  and  cruel,  and  muster  about  600  men-in-arms.  The 
Mussaia  are  their  neighbours  to  the  west,  and  can  take  the  field 
with  1000  men.  Next  is  the  important  tribe  of  the  Summata, 
who,  in  war,  muster  1500  footmen,  and  200  horsemen  under  arms. 
All  of  them  live  in  small  and  wretched  huts ;  the  rooms,  however, 
in  those  miserable  dwellings,  are  better  furnished  than  are  the 
tents  of  the  Arabs.  The  Kabyles  are  sedentary  agriculturists, 
who  do  not  remove  their  habitations,  and  can  therefore  accumulate 
many  utensils,  and  different  .pieces  of  comfortable  furniture.  The 
French  soldiers,  on  the  present  occasion,  made  considerable  booty 
in  carpets,  sheep -skins,  brass  kegs,  jugs,  and  jars,  though  the 
Kabyles  had  removed  their  most  valuable  property  to  the  higher 
parts  of  the  mountains. 

The  wild  olive-tree  is  very  common  on  the  lower  slope  of  the 
Atlas.     It  is  often  employed,  like  the  cactus,  to  form  the  en- 
closures of  the  corn-fields ;  higher  up  it  is  superseded  by  the  oak, 
but  the  growth  is  dwarfish  and  poor ;  the  cork-tree,  which  covers 
the  tops  of  the  mountains,  does  not  attain  to  any  considerable  size. 
Belida  has  been  permanently  occupied  by  the  French  since 
May,  1838 ;  but  the  troops  were  not  then  quartered  in  the  city, 
as  Marshal  Valee  was  anxious  that  the  sight  of  French  regi- 
mentals should  not  induce   the  inhabitants  to   emigrate.     The 
soldiers  had  to  live  in  camp,  nor  were  even  European  civilians 
allowed  to  settle  in  the  city,  though  many  of  them  had   here 
claims  of  landed  property.     Two-thirds  of  the  houses  and  gar- 
dens of  the  town  were  many  years  since  sold  to  French  speculators 
for  trifling  sums.    Buyers  and  sellers  alike  thought  that  they  had 
entrapped  each  other.     As  the  French  had  more  than  ten  times 
come  to  Belida,   but  always  retired  again,  the  Moors  did  not 
believe  that  the  "  Rummis"  could  ever  occupy   the   city   per- 
manently.    They  did  not  know  that  the  Generals  abstained  from 
it  only  until  high-roads  and  block-houses  were  constructed   all 
over  the  Metija,  in  order  to  ensure  a  constant,  easy  communica- 
tion with  Algiers.     The  inhabitants  of  Belida  thought  that  the 


64  RASSOTA,  EEGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH. 

retreat  of  the  French  columns  was  an  evidence  of  fear  and  weak- 
ness. They,  therefore,  put  faith  in  the  hragging  of  Ben  Zamun, 
Ben  Brahim,  and  other  Kabyle  chiefs,  who  promised  to  drive  the 
unbelievers  into  the  sea,  and  did  not  imagine  that  the  tricolor 
could  ever  float  lastingly  on  the  top  of  the  Atlas.  The  Moors 
were  well  aware  that  the  French  speculators  never  would  take 
possession  of  the  estates  they  had  bought,  without  being  protected 
by  French  bayonets.  The  French  colonists,  on  the  other  hand, 
knew  the  French  character  too  well,  and  felt  sure  that  the  colony 
could  not  be  given  up,  but  must  expand  to  the  interior,  should  it 
cost  even  hundreds  of  millions.  They  therefore  bought,  without 
hesitation,  and  without  even  having  seen  them,  the  houses  and 
gardens  of  Belida,  offered  to  them  by  the  inhabitants,  and  often 
even  without  being  fully  satisfied  of  the  existence  of  the  property. 
The  price  was,  of  course,  nearly  nominal.  But  both  parties,  the 
Moorish  sellers  and  the  French  buyers,  were  greatly  mistaken  in 
the  result.  For  when,  in  1838,  Belida  was  at  last  occupied  by 
the  army,  the  jobbers  could  not  even  then  take  possession  of  their 
legally  acquired  property.  Pellissier,  the  chief  of  the  Bureau 
Arabe,  disliked  them,  and  advocated  the  just,  and  often  even  the 
exaggerated  claims  of  the  natives.  He  reported  to  the  Governor- 
General,  that  to  acknowledge  the  French  claims  would  be  equi- 
valent to  an  ejectment  of  the  Moorish  population,  and  would  force 
it  to  emigrate  to  Medeah.  It  would  be  a  dangerous  precedent  to 
expel  a  peaceable  and  industrious  population,  who,  under  French 
supremacy,  were  a  kind  of  guarantee  for  the  maintenance  of  peace; 
whilst,  if  driven  to  Medeah,  they  would  only  increase  the  number 
of  the  enemy.  Marshal  Vale6  saw  the  policy  of  these  remarks,  and 
paid  little  attention  to  the  legal  claims  of  the  European  setilers. 
He  therefore  issued  an  order  by  which  every  European  civilian 
was  forbidden  to  visit  Belida,  until  the  camps  and  fortifications 
were  finished,  and  security  restored.  But  long  after  the  forts 
were  all  raised  around  the  city,  the  restriction  of  visiting  it 
remained  in  force,  and  it  was  only  under  the  administration  of 
Marshal  Bugeaud  that  those  claims  were  settled  by  arbitration. 


EASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLEAH.  65 

Medeah,  formerly  the  chief  place  of  the  province  of  Titteri,  is 
about  twice  as  large  as  Belida,  and  is  situated  south  of  this  city. 
On  the  way  thither,  about  fifteen  miles  beyond  Belida,  I  saw  a 
fine  country-seat,  which  had  belonged  to  the  Agha  of  Oran;  but 
after  the  downfal  of  this  Beylik,  it  was  occupied  by  a  Marabut 
of  the  Kabyle  tribe  Mussaiay  who,  as  often  as  French  troops 
made  an  expedition  in  that  direction,  always  came,  accompanied 
by  the  chiefs  of  his  tribe,  to  meet  them  with  great  respect;  and 
as  soon  as  the  French  retreated,  fired  at  them.  Three  rivers, 
the  Sidi-el-Kebir,  the  Shiflfe,  and  the  El-Jer,  all  easily  ford- 
able,  here  run  through  the  country  ;  by  their  junction  they  form 
the  Massafran,  a  considerable  but  not  navigable  river,  which 
takes  its  course  through  the  Sahel  to  the  sea  west  of  Algiers. 
The  defile  of  Teniah,  on  the  way  to  Medeah,  begins  about  three 
leagues  west  of  the  farm  Mussaia.  By  a  march  of  two  hours,  we 
reached  the  neck  of  the  mountain,  which  is  partially  cultivated  on 
both  sides  of  the  defile ;  but  the  greatest  portion  of  the  narrow 
path  leads  through  a  rough  thicket,  sometimes  interrupted  by 
bold  lime-cliffs.  Many  rivulets  rush  over  the  rocks,  but  do  not 
form  any  considerable  cascades.  Kabyle  huts  are  dispersed  all 
over  the  slopes,  but  we  saw  them  seldom  on  the  sunny  and 
cultivated  fields.  It  is  where  the  thicket  is  darkest,  and  the 
cliffs  roughest,  that  the  Kabyle  builds  his  dwelling,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  inaccessible  dens  of  the  wild  beasts. '  Towards 
the  top  of  the  mountain-range,  the  defile  becomes  continually 
narrower ;  two  conical  rocks  form  a  kind  of  natural  gate,  and 
the  cliffs  from  both  sides  approach,  sometimes  so  near  to  one 
another,  that  scarcely  four  men  abreast  can  pass  it.  It  seems 
as  if  fifty  resolute  men  might  here  detain  an  army  for  several 
days.  Yet  General  Achard  stormed  it  with  a  single  battalion 
of  the  37th  of  the  line,  though  it  was  defended  by  2000  Turks, 
Kabyles,  and  Arabs.  The  foremost  of  the  French  rushed  with 
fixed  bayonet  into  almost  certain  death,  and  broke  through  the 
enemy's  ranks  with  a  heroism  equalled  only  by  the  four  Hun- 
garian battalions  which,  under  General  Guyon,  carried  the  re- 


60  RASSOTA,  REGHAIA,  RUSGONIA,  BELIDA,  COLE  AH. 

nowned  pass  of  Branyiszko,  in  Hungary.  The  heights  of  Teniab 
form  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of  Algiers  and  of  Tit- 
teri.  I  did  not  proceed  farther  south,  and  returned  from  Belida 
to  Coleah. 

The  handsome  though  small  town  of  Coleah  is  situated  in  a 
valley  at  the  slope  of  the  Sahel  of  Algiers,  north  of  Belida,  about 
two  miles  from  the  coast,  west  of  the  river  Massafran.  Before 
1830,  the  city  had  from  two  to  three  thousand  inhabitants ;  they 
dwindled  down  in  1840  to  one  thousand,  but  now  the  population 
is  again  increasing,  and  chiefly  consists  of  Moors,  a  few  Negroes, 
and  two  or  three  Turkish  families.  Jews  were  not  allowed  to 
settle  here  under  the  Deys.  The  city  has  no  industry,  and  the 
commerce  is  of  little  importance;  but  it  was  viewed  by  the  Moham- 
medans as  a  hol}^  place,  and  therefore  remained  undisturbed  by  the 
feuds  of  the  natives  as  a  city  of  peace.  Several  of  the  most  re- 
nowned IMarabuts,  and  especially  the  family  of  the  Mubareks  (the 
blessed),  highly  venerated  for  their  holy  life,  had  fixed  their 
dwellings  here.  All  the  persecuted,  and  even  criminals,  found  at 
the  door  of  old  Mohammed  Mahiddin-el-Mubarek  an  asylum, 
which  was  always  respected  by  the  persecuting  avenger,  whether 
an  Arab  chief  or  a  Turkish  janissary.  Even  the  French  troops 
did  not  disturb  the  peace  of  the  little  town,  since  they  never 
experienced  here  the  slightest  resistance  from  the  passive  popu- 
lation. But  in  1838,  Coleah  was  permanently  occupied.  Mo- 
hammed Ben  Mubarek,  the  mild  old  man,  who  preached  peace 
and  conciliation,  was  dead,  and  his  family  had  emigrated.  The 
view  of  the  French  uniforms,  the  necessary  intercourse  with 
the  infidels  (whose  touch,  according  to  the  fanatics,  stains  the 
sanctuaries,  and  deprives  them  of  their  holiness  and  miracu- 
lous power),  destroyed  the  feelings  of  awe  which  the  natives 
felt  heretofore  when  he  approached  the  white  cupola  of  the 
mosque  of  the  Mubareks.  Yet  the  garrison  remained  undis- 
turbed, because  the  place  is  protected  on  the  east  by  the  Massa- 
fran, while  to  the  south  lie  swamps  which  make  the  retreat 
of  any  marauding   party  very  unsafe.      In   the  beginning  of 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  67 

1839,  German  colonists  from  Alsatia  settled  in  Coleah;  principally 
because  the  climate  and  vegetation  reminded  them  of  their  own 
country.  Apple  and  pear-trees  thrive  here  much  better  than 
oranges  and  dates  ;  but  the  soil  is  nearly  uncultivable  on  account 
of  the  thickets  of  dwarf-palms  and  other  bushes,  which  it  is  nearly 
impossible  to  destroy.  Beyond  the  Massafran  lies  the  territory 
of  the  Hajutes,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  lake  or  rather  swamp 
of  Alula  is  situated,  twenty  miles  long  and  four  miles  broad, 
divided  from  the  sea  by  a  range  of  hills,  which  form  here  a  kind 
of  gigantic  dyke.  On  the  top  of  the  heights,  between  the  sea 
and  the  lake,  is  the  Kubbar-el-Rummiah,  already  mentioned,  an 
ancient  mausoleum.  It  is  a  circular  building  of  about  500  feet  in 
diameter,  surrounded  by  Tuscan  columns,  and  surmounted  by  a 
pyramid  of  thirty- two  steps  of  granite;  the  top  has  been  destroyed, 
probably  by  treasure- seekers.  The  Kubbar-el-Rummiah  may  be 
the  sepulchral  monument  of  the  old  Numidian  kings,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Pomponius  Mela,  was  situated  between  Julia  Caesaria 
(Shershel)  and  Jcosium,  (Algiers).  Some  authors  believe  it  to 
have  been  the  tomb  of  Cava,  the  daughter  of  Count  Julian,  who 
had  invited  the  Arabs  to  Spain,  and  whose  sepulchre  was  erected 
in  this  neighbourhood,  (according  to  Marmol).  This  lonely  large 
monument  made  a  considerable  impression  on  the  Arab  mind, 
and  all  the  natives  have  some  traditions  about  the  fair  queen  who 
built  it,  and  about  the  treasures  it  is  supposed  to  hide. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 


It  was  towards  the  end  of  May  that  I  went  by  sea  to  Bujia.  In 
those  latitudes,  the  months  of  May  and  June  belong  to  the  calm 
months.  We  had  a  most  pleasant  passage,  as  if  carried  by  dol- 
phins through  the  waveless  sea.  The  coast-range  of  mountains 
between  Algiers  and  Bujia  is  a  northern  continuation  of  the  Atlas, 


68  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

and  has  very  few  lofty  peaks,  none  rising  higher  than  2000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  tops  of  a  parallel  southern  range 
tower  above  them.  The  slopes  are  gentle,  and  seldom  abrupt  or 
perpendicular:  they  are  thinly  wooded;  about  the  middle  are 
firs,  on  the  top  are  cork-trees.  Between  them  we  saw  again  the 
graceful  fans  of  the  dwarf-palm  covering  the  soil,  and  making 
the  mountains  impenetrable.  Between  the  sea  and  the  slopes 
there  is  an  uninterrupted  plain,  sometimes  ten  to  fifteen  miles 
wide,  but  oftener  only  500  to  600  feet.  The  coast- scenery  is 
monotonous,  varied  only  by  some  very  fantastically- shaped  cliffs, 
and  by  yet  fewer  traces  of  dwellings  on  the  mountains,  which  are 
betrayed  only  by  the  rising  smoke.  The  country  is  much  more 
fertile  than  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  in  France,  or  even  in 
Spain. 

Having  passed  the  Capes  Matifu  and  Bengut,  we  saw  the  little 
town  of  Dellys,  the  Ruscurium  of  the  Eomans,  about  sixty  miles 
west  of  Algiers,  at  the  foot  of  a  considerable  mountain.  It  has  a 
good  harbour,  but  very  few  tilled  fields  :  the  thickets  and  woods 
are  here  stocked  with  wild  boars.  "  What  sport ! "  exclaimed 
one  of  the  passengers ;  "  and  those  stupid  Arabs  do  not  eat  the 
boar."  Dellys  has  about  2500  native  inhabitants,  who  are  very 
industrious,  and  occupied  with  dyeing  wool  and  silk,  and  manufac- 
turing burniises  and  carpets.  The  exports  to  Algiers  consist  in 
dried  fruits,  oil  of  inferior  quality,  and  sheep- skins.  The  mighty 
and  warlike  Kab3^1e  tribe  of  the  Amrauahs  dwell  in  this  part  of 
the  mountains,  which  are  too  dangerous  for  any  invading  column. 
They  are  only  nominally  under  the  sovereignty  of  France. 

On  my  return  from  Bona  to  Algiers,  I  saw  to  better  advantage 
that  giant  of  the  Atlas,  the  Jibel  Jurjura,  the  mons  ferratus  of 
the  Romans,  towering  with  many  peaks  above  the  three  lower 
mountain-ranges  of  the  coast.  This  mountain-range,  about  fifty 
miles  distant  from  the  shore,  is  not  only  higher  than  all  the  other 
elevated  groups  of  the  Atlas,  but  it  has  many  more  conical  tops 
than  the  other  portions  of  the  Atlas,  nearly  all  of  which  present 
straight,  horizontal,  and  little  inclined  lines.     The  snow  rests  till 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  69 

June  or  July  on  the  top,  which  rises  to  about  7000  feet.  No 
European  traveller  has  as  yet  made  the  ascent ;  even  the  Turks 
did  not  dare  to  enter  its  recesses,  and  the  Kabyles  of  that  moun- 
tain never  paid  more  than  a  nominal  tribute.  They  belong  mostly 
to  the  tribe  of  the  Flissas,  who  can  take  the  field  with  10,000 
men.  Ben-Zamun  is  their  chief,  who  in  1838  acknowledged  the 
sovereignty  of  Abd-el-Kader,  but  the  Flissas  declared  that  they 
never  would  consent  to  pay  tribute  to  any  stranger ;  they  pay  it 
only  by  the  bullets  of  their  muskets.  Yet  they  joined  the  Emir 
in  his  wars  against  the  French.  The  best  yatagans  of  the  country 
are  manufactured  of  Jurjura  iron,  dug  and  melted  by  the  Flissas. 
The  chief  place  of  the  tribe  is  likewise  called  Flissa,  and  is  situ- 
ated at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  in  a  most  delightful  country. 
Close  to  the  city  is  the  village  Coromma,  where  the  most  cele- 
brated of  all  the  Kabyle  Marabuts,  Sidi-Ali-Ben-Aissa,  lived  till 
1835.  He  was  about  a  hundred  years  old,  and  his  influence  was 
unbounded.  Even  Ben-Zamun,  the  secular  chief  of  the  tribe,  had 
to  yield  to  his  command. 

As  we  were  approaching  Bujia,  the  coast  grew  always  higher 
and  more  wild,  and  perpendicular  cliffs  rose  with  sharp  indenta- 
tions. One  of  the  rocks,  protruding  far  into  the  sea,  forms  a 
regular  gate,  with  a  mighty  arch  above,  which  offers,  through  the 
opening,  a  most  picturesque  view  of  the  foaming  sea  behind. 
West  of  Bujia,  another  rock  interested  the  passengers  very  much, 
not  from  its  shape,  nor  from  its  geological  formation,  but  because 
it  is  inhabited  by  a  large  colony  of  monkeys,  some  of  whom  came 
out  of  their  holes  to  see  us.  These  animals  belonged  to  the  tribe 
of  the  common  Barbary  monkey  without  a  tail,  which  abound 
near  Bujia.  Bujia  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  a  bay  between 
Cape  Carbon  and  Cape  Carvallos.  The  harbour  is  here  deeper 
and  more  secure  than  at  Bona  and  Algiers;  the  Deys,  there- 
fore, always  sent  their  fleet  hither  in  the  stormy  season.  Yet 
this  advantage  had  been  overrated,  and  several  ships  have  here 
met  with  accidents  from  sudden  gales.  The  bay,  like  all  those 
of  Algeria,  has  the  shape  of  a  crescent  open  to  the  north-east. 


70  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

The  city,  the  Salde  Colonia  of  the  ancients,  is  built  on  the  slopes 
of  the  mountain  Gurria  in  an  amphitheatrical  form,  divided  into 
two  parts  by  a  deep  ravine.  The  walls  were  formerly  very  exten- 
sive, and  reached  the  cliffs  which  overlook  Bujia ;  but  they  have 
decayed  long  since,  and  the  French  do  not  repair  them,  since  they 
have  fortified  the  place  with  forty  block-houses  and  trenches.  The 
bald  head  of  the  Gurria  is  now  covered  by  a  strong  fort,  command- 
ing the  country  like  an  eagle's  nest.  It  affords  an  excellent  look- 
out, and  the  Kabyles  cannot  stir  in  their  mountains  without  being 
immediately  seen.  No  surprise  is,  therefore,  now  to  be  dreaded, 
as  was  the  case  during  the  first  years  of  the  occupation. 

Bujia  is,  without  doubt,  the  most  miserable  town  I  have  seen  in 
Northern  Africa.  The  quarter  beyond  the  river  is  not  inhabited ; 
the  houses  are  ruins  of  mud  and  broken  bricks.  The  French 
cannon  began  the  destruction  at  the  time  of  the  occupation ;  the 
inhabitants  themselves  continued  the  work,  resolved  to  emigrate 
if  they  were  unable  to  withstand  the  enemy :  and  they  demolished 
their  houses,  that  the  French  might  not  find  anything  beyond 
ruins.  Covetous  soldiers,  seeking  for  hidden  treasures,  with  the 
storms  and  rains  of  the  country,  completed  the  desolation.  In 
the  inhabited  quarter,  there  are  some  new  buildings  of  wood  and 
bricks  :  the  mosques  are  turned  into  store-houses ;  for  the  Moham- 
medan population  has  deserted  the  city  since  the  occupation.  A 
large  hospital,  and  the  houses  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  are 
the  most  prominent  buildings  of  the  town.  It  is  scarcely  more 
than  a  military  camp.  The  garrison  amuse  themselves  with  the 
"wine-flask,  cards,  newspapers,  and  at  the  theatre,  where  the  actors 
are  all  soldiers  of  the  battalions  of  Africa  (the  penal  battalions  of 
the  French  army) :  the  female  parts  are,  after  the  antique  fashion, 
performed  by  males  in  disguise.  Though  the  vicinity  of  Bujia, 
with  its  beautiful  southern  vegetation  in  the  plain,  close  to  the 
well- wooded  mountain,  is  most  attractive,  it  is  impossible  to  enjoy 
it.  For  years  the  garrison  was  regularly  blockaded,  as  the  Spanish 
forts  Ceuta  and  Melilla  were  in  Morocco.  Whoever  left  the  walls 
of  the  town  was  sure  to  be  greeted  by  a  volley  of  bullets.     The 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OP  ALGERIA.  71 

Kabyles  often  lay  for  weeks  in  ambuscade,  in  order  to  get  the 
opportunity  of  shooting  an  infidel ;  and  the  soldiers,  surrounded 
by  the  gardens  of  the  Hesperides,  dared  not  to  pluck  the  golden 
fruits  :  it  was  really  the  torture  of  Tantalus.  Bujia  is  even  now 
the  most  insecure  of  all  the  French  posts  in  Africa. 

The  natives  around  Bujia  are  Kabyles,  and  the  tribes  living 
here  are  the  most  ferocious  of  that  race.  So  are,  for  the  most 
part,  the  Mezzaia,  fanatical  Mohammedans,  who  often  rushed 
upon  the  bayonets  of  the  French.  But  even  the  Beni-Messaud, 
Beni-Mimur,  Beni-Amrus,  Ulad-Wart,  &c.,  had  no  other  inter- 
course with  the  French  than  with  the  sword  in  hand,  up  to  the 
year  1846.  Then  the  chiefs  all  came  down  from  the  mountains 
into  the  camp  of  Marshal  Bugeaud,  in  order  to  pay  allegiance  to 
France,  and  to  get  gaudy  dresses  as  a  token  of  their  investiture. 
But  though  peace  is  nominally  subsisting,  the  country  is  not  yet 
really  subjected.  In  fact,  it  is  the  "  Belad-Meskhutin,"  the 
accursed  country  of  the  Arab  story-tellers  ;  and  yet  the  Kabyles 
of  Bujia  are  industrious,  much  more  so  than  their  countrymen. 
Their  fields  on  the  mountain  terraces  are  well  tilled,  and  care- 
fully fenced :  they  work  the  copper,  lead,  and  iron  mines  on  the 
mountains,  and  themselves  manufacture  their  muskets,  daggers, 
and  swords. 

Jijeli,  the  Jgilgilis  of  the  ancients,  lies  twelve  leagues  east  of 
Bujia.  It  is  built  on  a  small  rocky  peninsula,  and  has  a  good 
harbour,  deep  and  secure,  but  affording  too  little  space  for  large 
ships.  The  greatest  part  of  the  town  covers  the  plateau  of  a  cliff, 
and,  if  well  defended,  is  nearly  impregnable.  The  surrounding 
country  is  fertile,  and  better  cultivated  than  the  Metija ;  but 
wheat  does  not  thrive.  The  natives,  therefore,  prefer  to  grow 
barley  and  flax,  and  to  import  wheat.  Oranges  and  dates  are 
also  scarce ;  but  figs,  nuts,  and  eatable  acorns,  are  found  in  abun- 
dance. When,  in  1839,  the  French  occupied  the  town,  it  con- 
tained about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  who  all  fled  into  the  moun- 
tains among  the  Kabyles.  Jijeli,  like  Bujia,  is  now  entirely  a 
military  town;  the  mosques  are  turned  into  storehouses  and  stables, 


72  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OP  ALGERIA. 

and  commerce  has  disappeared.  Before  1830,  small  Moorish 
vessels  carried  hides,  wool,  wax,  cork,  oil,  and  dried  fruits,  to 
Algiers,  but  not  to  any  considerable  extent.  After  the  occupa- 
tion of  Bujia  by  the  French,  the  garrison  got  its  firewood  from 
Jijeli.  The  natives  are  as  savage  as  the  people  around  Bujia; 
but  they  have  scarcely  any  horses,  and  are,  therefore,  less  dan- 
gerous. 

CoUo  is  situated  about  fifteen  leagues  east  from  Jijeli.  In  the 
times  of  antiquity  it  was  an  important  city,  Collops  Magnus ; 
now  it  is  a  wretched  Kabyle  encampment  of  a  few  huts.  Leo 
Africanus  mentions  the  inhabitants  for  their  "  ingenium  liherale^ 
Jidissimunij  humanisshnum ;"  but,  in  the  course  of  centuries, 
they  have  become  most  savage  robbers,  ready  to  plunder  and 
to  murder  whoever  has  the  misfortune  of  being  wrecked  in  this 
neighbourhood. 

Ten  leagues  farther  east,  we  reached  Stora,  the  Bussicada  of 
the  ancients,  situated  in  a  deeply- indented  bay.  The  travellers 
of  the  last  century  described  this  place  as  a  decaying  city;  yet 
when,  in  1838,  General  Negrier  made  a  reconnoitering  in  that 
direction  from  Constantine,  the  French,  who  are  easily  excitable, 
thought  they  were  coming  to  a  great  and  important  city.  But 
they  were  painfully  undeceived  when,  after  a  march  of  thirty 
hours  through  a  most  fertile  country,  they  arrived  at  the  beach 
without  finding  any  city  or  even  village,  but  only  a  few  deserted 
straw  huts,  leaning  on  Roman  cigterns  or  temple  ruins.  The 
Kabyles  kept  their  corn  in  the  cisterns,  and  the  French  imitated 
them,  and  converted  the  solid  Roman  buildings  into  storehouses. 
Several  blockhouses,  forts,  and  barracks,  were  erected  here,  and 
at  last  the  plan  of  Marshal  Valee,  to  found  a  new  French  city,  was 
approved  of  by  the  Government.  It  was  laid  out  at  some  distance 
from  the  ancient  ruins,  and  got  the  name  of  Philippeville.  Mer- 
chants and  mechanics  from  Bona,  and  many  Maltese  settled,  and 
the  discovery  of  profitable  coral-banks  advanced  materially  the 
increase  of  the  population.  An  old  Roman  high-road  was  repaired, 
and  the  connexion  with  Constantine  was  secured  by  means  of 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  73 

several  intermediate  camps.  Philippeville,  as  the  nearest  har- 
bour for  Constantine,  and  the  chief  place  of  a  very  fertile  plain, 
has  every  prospect  of  becoming  an  important  commercial  city. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  we  arrived  at  Bona.  It  has  no  harbour; 
the  ships  anchor  in  the  bay,  about  half  an  hour  west  of  the  city, 
and  seek  shelter  from  the  storm  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fort 
Genois,  where,  after  all,  they  do  not  find  sufficient  security.  This 
is  the  principal  obstacle  to  Bona's  becoming  a  great  emporium, 
though,  in  other  respects,  it  is  a  most  promising  place.  Its  varied 
scenery,  with  high  mountains,  bare  rocks,  and  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion on  the  hills  and  on  the  extensive  plain,  and  its  fine  rivers, 
make  a  most  agreeable  impression  on  the  mind.  Green  meadows 
and  hills,  wooded  with  jujube  trees,  meet  the  eye  from  every  street, 
in  accordance  with  the  Arabic  name  of  Bona :  *  Aimaba,  which 
means  the  jujube  trees.  The  native  population  has  much  decreased, 
for  in  1832,  Ben-Aissa,  the  vicegerent  of  Ahmet-Bey,  destroyed 
a  great  portion  of  the  town,  and  forced  the  poor  inhabitants,  about 
six  thousand  men,  to  emigrate.  Bona  is  divided  into  two  quar- 
ters. The  lower  portion  is  built  on  the  plain;  the  streets,  though 
not  very  regular  and  clean,  are  broad  and  sunny.  On  the  great 
market-place,  many  new  French  houses  have  been  built,  large  but 
frail,  as  Europeans  do  not  dwell  here  regularly  for  any  long  time, 
the  climate  being  feverish.  The  settlers  therefore  seek  to  make 
money,  and  to  leave  the  country  soon ;  accordingly,  their  houses 
are  built  only  for  a  few  years'  residence.  The  upper  part  of  the 
city  is  amphitheatrical,  but  not  so  steep  and  high  as  Algiers ;  the 
buildings  are  all  in  the  Moorish  style,  but  less  elegant  than  those 
of  the  capital.  The  strongly-fortified  citadel  of  Bona  is  raised  on 
an  isolated  hill,  east  of  the  shore.  It  proudly  overlooks  the  country, 
and  decides  the  fate  of  the  city,  which  might  easily  be  destroyed 
by  the  cannon  of  that  fort.  This  citadel  has  been  the  scene  of 
many  interesting  reverses  since  1830.  On  the  26th  of  March 
1832,  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  French  in  a  most  ex- 

•  Bona  is  a  mere  corruption  of  Hippona,  the  old  name. 


74  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

traordinary  manner.  Two  men  of  energy,  presence  of  mind, 
and  uncommon  courage,  with  thirty  sailors,  took  it,  half  by  per- 
suasion, half  by  force.  It  was  at  that  time  garrisoned  by  several 
hundred  Turks,  under  the  command  of  Ibrahim,  a  proud  and 
ambitious  man,  who  resolved  to  keep  possession  of  it,  and  re- 
sisted the  summons  of  surrender  both  from  Ben-Aissa,  Ahmet 
Bey's  general,  who  stood  before  the  walls  with  an  Arab  array, 
and  from  two  captains  in  the  French  service,  Yussuf,  the  rene- 
gado,  and  d'Armandy,  who  were  in  the  harbour  on  board  a  small 
French  war-brig,  but  without  land-troops.  Ben-Aissa  threatened 
to  storm  the  citadel,  and  the  French  officers,  at  the  head  of  thirty 
sailors,  solicited  admission  as  friends,  that,  by  directing  the  defence, 
they  might  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Arabs. 
But  Ibrahim  did  not  trust  them,  and  refused  them  entrance. 
Upon  this,  a  mutiny  arose  amongst  the  garrison,  where  Yussuf 
had  managed  to  get  a  party,  relying  on  his  energetic  words  and 
demeanour,  which  inspired  more  confidence  than  the  bragging 
of  Ibrahim.  This  commander  was  forced  to  leave  the  citadel 
with  his  personal  friends,  and  the  gates  were  opened  to  Yussuf, 
d'Armandy,  and  the  thirty  sailors.  Soon  a  new  conspiracy  broke 
out  among  the  riotous  garrison,  and,  but  for  the  presence  of  mind 
of  Yussuf,  who  cut  down  the  ringleader  with  his  own  hand,  the 
few  Frenchmen  would  have  been  murdered,  and  the  citadel  once 
more  lost  to  France.  But  now  the  gallant  band  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  fortress,  and  defended  it  so  valiantly  against  the 
Arabs  of  Ben-Aissa,  that  this  chief  gave  up  the  siege,  and  com- 
manded his  followers  to  retreat,  after  a  well-aimed  cannon-ball 
had  struck  the  ground  near  his  tent,  and  he  saw  that  the  batteries 
of  the  fort  might  give  him  more  trouble  than  he  could  give  the 
garrison. 

In  January  1837,  the  citadel  was  severely  damaged  by  a 
sudden  explosion  of  the  powder-magazine;  and  the  ill-fated  French 
garrison,  several  hundred  men,  met  with  an  untimely  end.  The 
shock  was  as  violent  as  an  earthquake,  all  the  windows  of  the 
town  were  broken,  and  several  houses  were  rent  asunder.     Yet, 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OP  ALGEEIA.  75 

in  1838,  I  found  the  citadel  again  inhabited;  the  walls  had 
been  restored,  and  a  merry  bustle  reigned  in  the  barracks  ;  songs 
were  heard,  wine  was  drunk,  gambling  and  amusements  went 
on,  though  the  same  dangerous  stuff  which  had  destroyed  the 
predecessors  of  the  merry  crowd  was  stored  up  in  the  same  vaults, 
all  the  ammunition  for  the  expedition  of  Constantine  being  thereiu 
deposited. 

Life  in  Bona  is  monotonous  and  peaceable,  and  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  life  at  Algiers.  It  was  difficult  to  get  lodgings,  but  the 
fare  was  most  excellent.  The  French  possess  the  genius  of  cooking, 
and  the  dinner  in  the  "  Grand  Restaurant  d'Afrique"  was  worth 
any  dinner  in  the  great  cities  of  France.  The  orchards  and  gar- 
dens of  Bona  supplied  vegetables  and  fruit ;  the  Bedouins  brought 
fowls,  cattle,  and  mutton  to  the  market ;  and  the  French  miners 
and  soldiers  shot  sufficient  game.  There  is  no  country  in  Barbary 
richer  in  wild  fowl :  sixteen  species  of  wild  ducks  are  to  be  found 
here,  and  abundance  of  snipes,  partridges,  and  bustards.  The  sea 
and  rivers  are  full  of  fish,  craw-fish,  and  shell-fish ;  and  all  the 
delicacies  of  Parisian  cookery  are  to  be  had  at  low  prices.  Spices 
and  wine  are,  of  course,  imported  from  France;  for  everywhere, 
up  to  the  outposts  in  the  Sahara,  the  sparkling  Champaign 
and  the  purple  claret  are  the  faithful  companions  of  the  tricolor. 
The  Arab  Sheikhs  do  not  despise  the  wine ;  and,  in  spite  of  Koran 
and  Marabut,  partake  of  the  forbidden  drink,  though  never  to 
excess.  The  amusements  of  Bona  are  not  much  varied :  they 
consist  in  a  walk  on  the  beach  towards  Fort  St.  Genois,  when 
the  steam- boats  arrive  and  sail  for  France;  in  visits  to  the  reading- 
rooms;  an  evening  ramble  on  the  great  market-place,  when  every- 
body appears  in  slippers,  easy  cloaks,  and  straw-hats;  and,  lastly, 
a  stroll  to  the  coffee-house,  to  hear  and  discuss  the  local  news  over 
a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  glass  of  lemonade.  The  principal  amusement, 
however,  is  the  chase,  though  it  is  here  very  fatiguing,  on  account 
of  the  marshes  in  the  east,  and  the  steep  mountains  in  the  west. 

The  Maltese  form  the  majority  of  the  European  settlers  at 
Bona,  but  they  are  really  the  very  refuse  of  Malta.     Lazy,  awk- 


76  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

ward,  cowardly,  thievish,  and  refractory,  they  have  not  one  com- 
mendable quality  but  their  sobriety  in  eating  and  drinking.  Like 
the  Lazzaroni  of  Naples,  the  Maltese  live  by  labour  for  wages ; 
but  they  undertake  only  very  light,  or,  at  least,  short  work,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  bask  in  the  sun  all  the  afternoon,  and  to  gaze 
with  open  mouth  on  the  passers-by.  There  are  but  few  mechanics 
among  the  Maltese,  nearly  all  of  whom  are  shoemakers.  The 
better  portion  of  them  are  costermongers  and  hucksters ;  they  sell 
spices,  fruit,  or  French  wares,  either  in  miserable  stalls  or  in  the 
open  air.  Some  of  them  are  innkeepers,  and  cheat  the  soldiers  by 
selling  bad  wine  mixed  with  water.  The  soldiers,  again,  often  take 
revenge,  by  eating  and  drinking  all  they  can  without  having  a 
penny  in  their  pockets,  then  leaving  the  shop  without  settling  their 
bills,  and  sometimes  beating  the  publican  to  the  bargain.  They 
are  aware  that  for  such  a  "lark"  they  are  sure  to  be  imprisoned 
for  a  few  days,  but  this  does  not  make  them  leave  off  the  joke. 
The  Maltese  form  a  kind  of  transitional  link  between  the  European 
and  the  native  population ;  but  they  are  more  closely  connected 
with  the  natives  than  with  the  Europeans,  with  whom  they  have 
only  communion  of  religious  profession,  whilst  they  are  as  thievish 
as  the  Arabs,  as  lazy  as  the  Moors,  and  as  dirty  as  the  Kabyles. 
In  their  religion  they  are  as  bigoted  Romanists  as  the  natives  are 
fanatical  Mohammedans.  Colonization  has  not  much  profited  by 
them;  not  one  in  a  hundred  is  an  agriculturist — in  fact,  they  are 
little  fitted  for  tilling  the  ground.  At  the  time  of  haymaking 
wages  are  high,  for  the  great  plain  of  Seybuss  is  covered  with  grass, 
and,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  hands,  not  the  twentieth  part  of 
it  is  mowed.  The  French  administration  buys  hay  for  its  horses, 
at  high  prices ;  nevertheless,  none  but  Germans  and  French- 
men get  employment  in  mowing ;  the  Maltese  are  too  lazy  and 
too  awkward  for  this  labour.  1  am  well  aware  that  travellers 
who  have  visited  Malta  give  a  different  account  of  the  islanders, 
and  describe  them  as  industrious,  honest,  and  active.  If  this  is 
really  the  case,  then  Malta  must  bless  the  emigration  which  rids 
her  of  the  worst  portion  of  her  population,  for  1  have  never 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  77 

seen  a  more  worthless  rabble  than  the  Maltese  in  the  Barbary 
States. 

Between  the  natives  and  the  Europeans  there  exists  much  more 
friendly  relation  in  Bona  than  at  Algiers.  All  the  inhabitants 
of  the  province  of  Constantine,  except  the  Kabyles,  are  more 
peaceable,  and  less  savage  and  fanatical,  than  those  of  the  pro- 
vinces of  Algiers  and  Oran.  The  nearer  to  Morocco,  the  more 
savage  and  cruel,  but  likewise  the  more  gallant  and  energetic  is 
the  population ;  the  nearer  we  approach  Tunis,  the  more  the  cha- 
racter of  the  people  is  distinguished  by  mildness  and  humane 
feeling.     In  this  respect  they  strongly  resemble  the  Turks. 

The  landscape  around  Bona  is  far  from  equalling  that  around 
Algiers.  We  do  not  find  either  the  orange  groves,  or  the  white 
and  neat  Moorish  villas,  which  transform  the  hill  of  Mustapha- 
Pasha,  and  the  mountain  of  Bujarea,  into  a  paradise  on  earth. 
The  high  mountains,  west  of  Bona,  are  too  near,  and  obstruct 
the  view,  whilst  eastwards  the  mountain- range  is  too  remote,  and 
we  see  therefore  only  the  green  monotonous  plain,  covered  with 
flowers,  but  devoid  of  trees;  and  soon  we  discover,  likewise,  the 
greatest  drawback  of  the  settlement — the  swamps  and  marshes, 
which  occupy  a  great  portion  of  the  plain.  The  numerous  springs 
and  rivulets,  streaming  down  from  the  mountains,  do  not  find 
their  way  to  the  sea,  though  there  is  no  natural  dyke  between 
the  shore  and  the  plain,  as  in  the  Sahel  at  Algiers ;  yet  the 
great  plain  of  Seybuss  slopes  visibly  from  north  to  south.  All 
the  waters,  therefore,  which  do  not  fall  into  the  Seybuss  and 
into  the  Bujimah,  form  large  morasses,  and  make  Bona  one  of 
the  most  feverish  spots  of  North  Africa.  Two -thirds  of  the  in- 
habitants suffer  in  summer  from  Intermittent  fever,  and  the  gar- 
rison often  require  to  be  transferred  to  more  healthy  places. 

There  are  no  bare  heights  around  Bona:  all  the  hills,  up  to 
the  top,  are  covered  with  rich  soil  of  great  depth ;  the  vegetation 
is  accordingly  luxuriant :  the  heights  are  studded  with  large  trees ; 
the  cork-tree  thriving  at  3500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
On  the  higher  mountains,  the  rock  breaks  through  the  soil  at 


78  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

their  very  foot;  the  upper  stratum  is  tertiary  coarse-grained  lime- 
stone: higher  up  we  find  gneiss  and  slate:  the  peaks  of  the  moun- 
tain-range towards  the  westerly  Cape  Ras-el-Hamrah,  are  com- 
posed of  transition  calcareous  rock,  and  often  handsome  marble. 
The  Ras-el-Hamrah  is  a  mass  of  reddish  marble,  and  sometimes 
entirely  white;  such  as  is  used  by  sculptors,  and  similar  to  that  of 
Carrara.  It  seems  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Hippo-Regius 
worked  those  quarries  with  great  industry ;  there  are  yet  many 
unfinished  columns  lying,  and  sufficient  traces  to  prove  that  the 
prosperous  condition  of  the  colony,  which  required  much  marble 
for  building,  has  diminished  the  size  of  the  rocks.  Numidia  was 
renowned  for  its  marble,  and  Pliny  mentions  that  the  country 
abounded  in  wild  beasts,  and  was  well  stored  with  marble.  The 
most  celebrated  Numidian  quarries  were  situated  midway  between 
Carthage  and  Clrta  (Constantine),  and  the  yellow,  purple- spotted 
marble  of  Numidia  was  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  precious 
ornaments  of  Roman  buildings. 

Close  to  Bona,  the  neck  of  the  hills  and  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains  are  well  wooded.  The  agave,  the  cactus,  the  date-palm, 
the  dwarf-palm,  and  the  orange,  are  less  abundant  than  in  Al- 
giers; but  the  carob-tree,  the  olive,  the  fig-tree,  and  the  vine, 
thrive  here  sufficiently,  and  all  the  vegetables  of  Europe  j^ield  an 
excellent  crop.  For  sport.  Bona  is  preferable  to  Algiers.  The 
lion,  which  has  deserted  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers,  is  here  not 
rare,  and  the  sportsman  has  still  opportunity  to  try  his  courage 
against  the  king  of  beasts..  Colonel  (now  General)  Yussuf  often 
arranged  great  lion-hunts  with  hundreds  of  horsemen,  in  which 
several  of  these  royal  beasts  were  usually  killed.  Panthers  are 
likewise  sometimes  seen  here:  the  hyaenas  are  so  frequent,  and 
so  little  dreaded,  that  the  French  soldiers,  who  like  to  have  a 
*' menagerie"  in  their  camps  for  amusement,  keep  them  like 
domesticated  animals  amongst  their  young  boars,  ichneumons, 
and  vultures.  Great  birds  of  prey  are  likewise  frequent  at  Bona: 
the  Egyipti&n  \\i\tw^{CatItartes  per enopterus)  takes  his  walks  on 


the  banks  of  the  Btgimah,  where  the  cattle  are  slaughtered,  and 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  79 

is  seen  amongst  the  herds  of  swine,  feeding;  he  often  perches  on 
the  backs  of  the  pigs.  But  when  a  European  approaches,  the 
vultures  fly  away ;  and  this  bird  is  peculiarly  shy  of  those  who 
do  not  wear  the  Arab  dress.  As  soon  as  he  perceives  such,  he 
stops,  raises  his  yellow,  bald  neck,  and  spies  whether  the  stranger 
is  a  sportsman ;  but  he  does  not  care  for  Bedouins,  and  allows  them 
to  approach,  for  the  Arabs  do  not  kill  their  scavenger.  Venomous 
reptiles  are  not  to  be  found  near  Bona:  the  vipers  are  found  in 
the  west  and  to  the  south  of  the  Regency;  but  lizards  are  very 
common.  I  often  remarked  here  a  splendid  species — rosy,  and 
with  a  green  belly;  but  I  never  could  catch  it,  on  account  of  its 
unexampled  agility.  I  found  several  interesting  specimens  of 
shells,  and  some  new  coleoptera. 

The  ruins  of  the  celebrated  ancient  city.  Hippo,  the  residence 
of  the  Numidian  kings,  and  the  seat  of  St.  Augustine's  bishopric, 
are  yet  easily  to  be  traced,  about  a  mile  from  Bona,  situated 
partly  in  the  plain,  partly  upon  two  hills  between  the  rivers 
Bujimah  and  Seybuss.  From  the  fertility  of  the  country.  Hippo 
had,  at  the  commencement  of  our  era,  become  the  centre  of  com- 
merce and  civilization,  and  many  public  buildings  crowned  the 
two  hills:  theatres,  palaces,  and  temples,  and  afterwards  churches, 
convents,  and  schools,  which  were  as  renowned  as  those  of  Italy. 
But  a  natural  obstacle  prevented  the  increase  of  the  city;  it 
had  no  springs  on  the  hill,  and  the  water  of  the  Seybuss  (the 
Ubus  of  the  Romans)  is  brackish.  Roman  enterprise,  however, 
soon  overcame  this  difficulty.  A  mighty  aqueduct  was  carried  on 
arches  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  Pappua  over  two  valleys  and 
a  river;  two  hills  were  tunnelled,  and  the  clear  water  brought  to 
the  city.  Hippo  was  defended  by  a  high  and  thick  wall,  with 
round  towers,  bound  eastward  by  the  Ubus,  the  banks  of  which 
were  lined  by  marble  quaj'^s. 

A  palace  adorned  the  loftier  of  the  two  hills.  It  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Numidian  kings  whenever  they  visited  this  delightful 
spot,  their  usual  residence  being  Cirta.  But  Uiey  came  often  to 
Hippo,  which  therefore  was  called  "  Regius,"  tte  royal.    A  great 


80  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

building  of  square  form,  east  of  the  palace,  attracts  the  eye,  which 
had  been  completed  just  before  the  capture  of  Hippo :  the  Bishop 
Aurelius  Augustinus  built  it.  It  was  a  tank,  resting  upon  seven 
rows  of  wide  arches — a  reservoir  for  the  rain-water.  The  period 
of  security  had  passed,  and  the  bishop,  foreseeing  a  time  when  the 
aqueduct  might  be  stopped  by  the  enemy,  wished  to  provide  for 
the  population  in  case  of  siege.  This  token  of  his  munificence 
now  surpasses  the  splendour  of  the  palace.  The  little  town  of 
Aphrodisium,  the  present  Bona,  was  the  harbour  of  Hippo,  where 
the  ships  got  water  from  a  broad  well.  The  sanctuary  of  Venus, 
on  the  steep  shore,  gave  the  name  to  the  city.  The  principal  ruins 
of  Hippo  consist  of  fourteen  cisterns,  about  ten  arches  of  the 
aqueduct,  and  the  remains  of  a  semicircular  theatre,  opposite  the 
Seybuss.  A  few  tombs  have  likewise  been  discovered  on  the 
plain,  with  Roman  coins,  pottery,  and  fragments  of  arms.  Some 
portions  of  ancient  masonry  designate  the  spot  where,  according 
to  tradition,  the  cathedral  of  St.  Augustine  stood.  A  French 
innkeeper  erected  a  public  house  here,  and  profane  dances  and 
music  desecrated  the  place  where  St.  Augustine's  eloquence  was 
heard ;  but  the  desecration  has  been  revenged :  the  publican 
failed,  and  his  gin-palace  was  closed. 

The  first  Bishop  of  Algiers,  Dupuch — a  man  highly  venerated 
by  believing  and  unbelieving  Christians,  and  even  by  Mohamme- 
dans, on  account  of  his  charity  and  devoutness — visited  Hippo 
in  1839,  and  read  the  mass  in  open  air  upon  the  ruins  of  Hippo. 
The  Litany  was  sung  once  more,  after  an  interval  of  1400  years; 
and  the  bishop  was  so  deeply  moved,  that  he  burst  into  tears.  The 
worthy  prelate  had  soon  after  to  leave  his  diocese;  he  spent  much 
more  than  his  income  on  acts  of  charity,  and  the  government  was 
too  stingy  to  pay  his  debts,  though  his  influence  had  done  much 
to  conciliate  the  natives.  He  lived  in  a  monastery  at  Paris,  for- 
gotten by  his  countrymen.  But  when  Abd-el-Kader  was  released 
from  his  prison  at  Amboise,  and  visited  Paris,  the  Mohammedan 
Emir  remembered  the  benevolent  priest,  and  sent  for  him  in  order 
to  express  his  gratitude  for  all  the  good  he  had  done  to  the  Arabs. 


TEE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  81 

Three  rivers  run  through  the  large  plain  of  Bona,  equal  in  ex- 
tent to  the  Metija,  namely,  the  Bujima,  the  Seybuss,  and  the  Ma- 
fragg.  The  Seybuss  is  navigable,  but  only  to  a  small  distance, 
as  a  sand-bar  closes  its  mouth;  the  water  is  here,  in  summer, 
only  five  feet  deep,  but  during  the  rainy  season  it  rises  to 
ten  feet.  As  the  bar  alters  its  height  according  to  the  winds, 
the  surf,  and  the  rise  of  the  river,  it  often  happens  that  ships 
which  have  entered  the  Seybuss  are  suddenly  caught,  and  cannot 
get  out  for  several  weeks.  A  great  storm  cleared  this  bar  away 
in  February  1835,  and  for  a  certain  time  ships  could  sail  up  the 
river  to  some  distance,  but  the  sand  has  since  accumulated,  and 
the  entrance  in  the  Seybuss  is  again  barred.  This  river  never 
can  become  of  any  great  commercial  importance,  especially  as  its 
depth  rapidly  decreases  above  Bona.  But  the  plain,  which  might 
more  easily  be  drained  than  the  Metija,  is  one  of  the  most  invit- 
ing spots  for  colonists  in  the  Regency.  Ten  thousand  families 
could  easily  find  sufiicient  fields  for  subsistence.  The  Bey  of 
Constantine  kept  here  his  cattle — some  hundred  thousand  head  of 
cows  and  sheep — under  the  care  of  the  Beui- Yacob,  who  formed  a 
regular  corps  of  shepherds.  After  the  capture  of  Bona,  herds 
and  herdsmen  had  to  withdraw  to  the  interior ;  and  Ahmet  never 
could  suppress  his  regret  for  the  loss  of  that  grazing-ground. 
When  General  Damremont  had  sent  Busnac,  a  Jew,  to  Con- 
stantine to  negotiate,  previous  to  the  second  expedition  against 
that  city,  the  first  question  of  the  Bey  was,  "  What  has  been  done 
with  the  plain  of  Ann^ba?  "  (Bona.)  When  Busnac  told  him  that 
only  three  tribes  had  remained  on  the  plain,  and  that  its  greatest 
portion  was  uncultivated — visited  by  the  French  only  for  boar- 
hunting  ;  the  Bey,  quite  astonished,  stroked  his  beard,  and  said, 
"  Why  do  the  French  covet  my  rocks  and  wildernesses,  when 
they  are  unable  to  make  use  of  the  best  part  of  my  Beylik?" 

La  Calle,  the  old  commercial  settlement  of  the  French,  is 
situated  on  the  coast,  twenty- seven  leagues  east  of  Bona.  It  is 
now  but  a  village,  inhabited  by  about  500  coral-fishers,  as 
several  swamps  which  nearly  reach  the  village  make  the  climate 

F 


82  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

very  unhealthy.  Even  in  1520  the  French  had  planted  a 
settlement  on  the  coast  of  Barbary,  a  few  miles  east  of  La  Calle, 
and  called  it  "  Bastion  de  France."  But  the  miasmas  from  the 
swamps  compelled  the  colonists  to  give  up  the  plantation,  and  to 
transfer  it  to  La  Calle,  though  the  change  was  not  for  the  better; 
as,  besides  the  fevers,  they  had  here  likewise  to  encounter  the 
hostilities  of  the  natives.  Yet  love  of  lucre  imparted  such  endur- 
ance to  the  Company,  that  ever  since  that  time  the  colony  has 
continued  to  maintain  itself,  in  spite  of  the  hostilities  and  occasional 
depredations  of  the  natives.  The  "  Compagnie  d' Afrique,"  for  a 
yearly  rent  of  £8000,  had  the  monopoly  of  the  export  trade  from 
the  province  of  Constantine,  and  traded  in  wool,  corn,  hides,  oil, 
wax,  and  silk.  The  principal  gain  was  derived  from  the  coral- 
fishery,  which  is  inexhaustible  from  Cape  Rose  to  the  isle  of 
Tabarka.  The  Company  was  several  times  expelled,  but  always 
succeeded  in  reconciling  the  Deys,  and  renewing  its  operations ; 
until,  in  June  1827,  it  was  entirely  driven  away,  and  the  village 
burnt  down  by  the  Arabs. 

The  present  inhabitants  of  La  Calle,  mostly  Neapolitans  and 
Sardinians,  have  no  other  occupation  than  coral-fishery.  The 
crew  of  a  coral-boat  is  composed  of  a  captain,  who  has  all  the  re- 
sponsibility, and  has  ten  coral-fishers  under  him.  The  coral- 
fishers  belong  to  the  lowest  classes  of  society,  the  work  being 
most  painful ;  and  many  felons  who  have  escaped  from  prison  are 
found  amongst  them,  resorting  to  that  precarious  mode  of  living 
when  they  find  no  other  possible  occupation.  The  captain  always 
appoints  one  of  the  fishers  as  his  mate,  who  acts  as  second  in 
command. 

The  ground  of  the  sea,  near  La  Calle,  is  full  of  rocks  of  dif- 
ferent height,  and  the  corals  adhere  to  those  rocks;  they  are 
better  in  size  and  colour  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  rocks 
towards  the  coast,  than  on  the  top,  or  at  the  sea- side.  The 
fishers  throw  strong  hempen  nets  into  the  sea,  which  are  kept 
extended  by  wooden  crosses,  of  about  four  feet  length,  loaded  by 
weights.     These  nets  entangle  themselves  in  the  corals,  and  as 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OP  ALGERIA.  83 

soon  as  the  fishers  feel  the  nets  sticking,  they  row  with  all  their 
might  to  the  north,  until  the  coral  is  broken  off  from  the  rock; 
often,  however,  they  catch  only  a  stone,  or  some  pieces  of  madre- 
pores and  zoophytes.  On  the  whole,  it  is  a  piece  of  good  luck  to 
catch  fine  corals.  The  common  coral-fisher  gets,  besides  his  board, 
twenty  to  twenty-five  shillings  a-month ;  the  captain,  double  the 
amount,  and  a  bottle  of  wine  per  day.  Every  foreign  boat  has  to 
pay  £64  a-year  to  the  French  Government  for  the  license  of  coral- 
fishing  ;  the  boat  of  ten  persons,  and  the  captain,  about  the  same 
sum;  the  total  expense  for  a  boat  is  therefore  about  £300;  the 
repair  of  the  nets  is  not  included,  which  is  sometimes  very  heavy. 
The  yield  of  the  summer  is,  on  an  average,  160  cwt. ;  in  winter, 
60  cwt.  per  boat;  therefore  about  220  cwt.,  whilst  the  average 
price  of  corals  is  £3  per  pound.  The  capitalists  have,  of  course, 
no  control  over  the  finds,  but  rely  on  the  honesty  of  the  captain ; 
if,  however,  for  two  successive  years,  he  catches  less  corals  than 
the  other  captains,  he  is  dismissed.  The  number  of  coral-boats 
in  La  Calle,  is  often  changing.  In  the  time  of  the  old  Company, 
they  amounted  to  700  or  800,  but  now  there  are  scarcely  more  than 
300.  Formerly  one-third  of  the  boats  were  French,  now  from 
ten  to  fifteen  are  Corsican,  and  the  remainder  are  sent  from 
Naples,  Genoa,  and  Leghorn.  Though  corals  are  no  longer 
fashionable  in  France,  many  are  sent  to  China,  where  they  fetch 
good  prices,  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  the  French,  who 
obtain  the  licenses  gratis,  have  given  up  this  branch  of  indus- 
try. .  The  centre  of  the  coral  commerce  is  Leghorn ;  good  speci- 
mens, of  fine  colour  and  large  size,  are  well  paid,  sometimes 
fetching  £30  and  more.  In  recent  times  the  coral-fishery  has 
again  greatly  increased,  and  if  the  climate  were  not  so  bad  at  La 
Calle,  this  place  might  become  very  important,  as  valuable 
forests,  available  for  timber,  cover  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
I  requested  Commander  Lacombe  to  make  an  excursion  with 
me  from  the  camp  of  Drean  to  Lake  Fezzara.  Lacombe  was 
at  that  time  (Aug.  1837)  an  experienced  officer  advanced  in 
years,  who  had  gone  through  a  stormy  career,   having  often 


84  THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA. 

meddled  in  party  politics,  and  been  rather  ill-used  by  the  Govern- 
ment. He  liked  scientific  disputes;  and  his  chief  study  was  geo- 
logy, regarding  which  he  advanced  some  rather  unscientific  hypo- 
theses. He  complied  with  my  request.  A  company  of  nineteen 
persons,  led  by  curiosity  or  love  of  sport,  was  soon  formed.  "We 
set  out  at  midnight,  and  after  a  sharp  ride  of  four  hours,  arrived 
at  the  lake  of  Karfalla,  the  lieutenant  of  the  Spahis,  an  Arab  by 
birth,  acting  as  our  guide  and  interpreter. 

It  is  in  vain  to  expect  in  Africa  such  lovely  sheets  of  water  as 
are  found  in  the  lakes  of  Switzerland,  or  of  Lombardy.  I  saw 
in  Barbary,  besides  Lake  Fezzara,  the  morasses  of  La  Calle,  the 
Lake  Alula,  and  the  briny  lakes  of  the  province  of  Oran.  They 
are  all  of  the  same  character.  In  winter,  when  the  waters  of 
the  mountains  pour  into  the  plain,  and  overflow  the  country,  those 
lakes  are  such  as  we  imagined  them  to  be.  But  in  summer 
they  are  mere  swamps,  covered  with  innumerable  green,  unsteady 
islands,  formed  by  cane  and  water-plants.  Lake  Fezzara  is  the 
largest  sheet  of  fresh  water  in  Barbary,  yet  it  is  scarcely  above 
twenty-five  miles  in  circumference.  We  could  hardly  reach  the 
water;  sharp  reeds  obstructed  our  way,  and,  as  we  advanced,  an 
immense  crowd  of  wading-birds  rose,  yelling  and  whistling  and 
screaming.  We  received  them  with  a  volley  from  our  muskets, 
and  continued  the  sport  for  about  two  hours  without  interruption; 
such  being  the  multitude  of  birds,  that  even  the  less  trained 
hands  seldom  failed  to  kill  one  of  the  wild-ducks,  herons,  and 
other  water-fowls.  But  it  was  more  difficult  to  recover  the  game 
which  dropped  into  the  canes ;  nearly  half  of  them  were  lost  to 
us.  Soon  after,  we  fell  in  with  an  encampment  of  Arabs,  who 
had  been  so  frightened  by  the  report  of  our  rifles,  that  they  had 
already  packed  their  mules  to  retire  into  the  mountains,  when  they 
were  quieted  by  Karfalla  telling  them  that  it  was  only  sport,  and  not 
a  hostile  attack.  The  Arabs  said  that  the  swamp  continued  yet  for 
three  hours'  journey  in  the  same  direction,  before  the  deep  and  clear 
water  of  the  lake  could  be  reached.  As  the  reeds  and  cane  made 
our  progress  nearly  impracticable,  we  resolved  to  turn  to  the  north- 


THE  EASTERN  COAST  OF  ALGERIA.  85 

west  bank  of  the  lake,  where,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
Bedouins,  a  spring  and  a  fine  shady  fig-tree  were  to  be  found — 
excellent  inducements,  as  an  African  noon  without  shelter  in  the 
hot  season  often  entails  an  attack  of  fever. 

The  Arabs  of  Lake  Fezzara  have  a  bad  fame ;  but  our  well- 
mounted  and  well-armed  company  seemed  to  overawe  them.  They 
received  us  kindly,  offered  us  milk,  and  sold  us  some  other  trifles 
at  reasonable  prices.  Men  and  women  were  very  dirty  and  ragged. 
The  females  and  children  gazed  with  astonished  eyes  at  the 
fearful  "  Rummis,"  of  whom  they  had  heard  from  their  Marabut. 
They  had  evidently  not  yet  met  with  Europeans,  for  the  children 
who  ran  after  us  did  not  beg  for  copper  coin,  as  all  those  do  who 
have  once  come  into  contact  with  the  French.  The  whelps^  as 
the  French  called  them,  did  not  look  very  savage,  but  seemed 
inclined  to  become  acquainted  with  us. 

After  a  ride  of  three  hours,  we  found  the  fig-tree  and  the  spring. 
The  water  rushed  from  a  limestone  cliff  into  a  natural  reservoir, 
overshadowed  by  the  broad  leaves  of  a  gigantic  fig-tree,  which 
protected  the  spring  from  the  rays  of  the  sun.  The  water  was  so 
fresh  and  cool,  that,  in  spite  of  the  many  amphibious  creatures 
living  in  it,  we  found  it  a  most  excellent  refreshment.  The 
shadow  of  the  tree  offered  sufficient  shelter  for  nineteen  persons ; 
but  scarcely  half  of  our  party  enjoyed  rest  on  this  lucky  spot, 
forming  an  oasis  in  the  scorched  plain.  The  younger  officers 
continued  shooting,  and  a  few  were  engaged  with  cooking.  Several 
of  our  comrades  had  lived  for  many  days  on  snails  and  unripe 
corn,  when  pursuing  some  Arab  tribe;  but  hither  they  had 
brought  all  the  delicacies  of  a  Parisian  kitchen,  which  they  now 
prepared  most  artistically.  Some  Bedouins  arrived  at  the  spring 
whilst  we  were  dining  ;  they  came  to  fill  their  sheep-skins  with 
the  crystal  water.  We  offered  them  in  vain  our  purple  claret ; 
even  the  example  of  Karfalla,  who  was  drinking  with  his  two 
nephews,  could  not  induce  them  to  taste  the  forbidden  wine :  they 
drank  their  water,  and  rode  away  singing,  and  no  less  merry  than 
we  wine-drinkers  were. 


86  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONST  AN  TINE. 

After  dinner  I  ascended  one  of  the  rocks  on  the  eastern  bank 
with  Commander  Lacombe,  and  we  saw  the  whole  surface  of  the 
lake,  extending  as  far  as  a  considerable  mountain-range.  The 
green  reed-islands  of  the  eastern  and  northern  bank  disappear 
towards  the  south,  where  the  water  looks  really  like  a  lake;  yet  the 
scenery  is  not  picturesque,  but  monotonous :  the  waters  are  black 
and  heavy,  scarcely  moved  by  the  strongest  breeze.  They  are  not 
brackish,  but  yet  of  a  disagreeable  taste.  The  principal  feature 
of  the  lake  is  the  immense  number  of  morass-birds.  I  saw  here 
the  sickle- billed  ibis,  the  silver-heron,  the  Numidian  crane,  the 
purple-heron,  the  wild- swan,  and  the  flamingo — king  of  the 
waders — with  its  scarlet  wings  and  white  plumes.  They  are 
gregarious,  stand  commonly  with  their  long  feet  in  shallow 
water,  and  carry  their  long  neck  as  majestically  as  the  swan. 
Since  shooting  is  the  only  amusement  of  the  colonist,  and  is  not 
restricted  by  any  game-laws.  Lake  Fezzara  is  likely  to  be- 
come the  favourite  resort  of  the  sons  of  Nimrod  in  the  colony. 
The  neighbourhood  of  Algiers  has  already  been  entirely  cleared 
of  the  boars  which  formerly  came  up  to  the  doors,  and  the  lion 
has  retired  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  Atlas,  or  to  the  desert  be- 
tween the  Tell  and  the  Oases.  But  the  waders  of  Lake  Fezzara 
can  scarcely  ever  be  diminished ;  for,  when  too  much  alarmed, 
they  take  their  flight  to  the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  where  the 
sportsman  cannot  follow  them  into  the  deep  water. 


CHAPTER  VL 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINB. 

General  Damremont,  starting  for  the  expedition  to  Constantine, 
had  appointed  me  a  Member  of  the  Scientific  Commission  which 
was  to  accompany  the  army.  This  Commission  had  to  examine  the 
antiquities,  to  measure  the  heights,  to  collect  botanical  and  zoolo- 
gical curiosities,  and  to  report  on  everything  important  and  worth 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  87 

notice  in  a  Memoir  to  be  published  after  the  campaign.  The  idea 
Avas  very  laudable,  the  more  so,  as  the  General  did  not  care  much 
about  science :  he  looked  upon  the  splendid  wild  flora  of  the 
country  as  so  many  weeds,  and  the  monuments  of  Rome  were 
simple  stones  for  him.  Yet,  such  is  the  power  of  the  example  set 
in  Egypt  by  the  great  Napoleon  to  all  French  generals,  that  even 
Damremont  mentioned  it  in  his  Report  to  the  Minister  of  War, 
that,  amidst  the  preparations  for  the  expedition,  and  in  spite  of  all 
kinds  of  difficulties,  he  had  not  forgotten  the  interests  of  science. 
We  were  all  treated  as  officers.  I  received  three  rations  for 
men  and  horses,  like  a  chief  of  battalion,  and  in  this  respect  we 
had  no  reason  to  complain.  But  so  much  more  had  we  to 
lament  the  neglect  of  all  means  required  for  scientific  undertak- 
ing :  we  were  not  even  furnished  with  mules  for  transporting  the 
most  necessary  instruments  and  collections ;  there  was  no  unity 
of  action  amongst  the  Members  of  the  Commission,  and  every  one 
did  what  he  pleased  in  an  isolated  way.  One  rode  with  the  van- 
guard, another  with  the  army  or  with  the  baggage- train  :  we 
did  not  meet,  and  did  not  even  know  what  each  of  us  was 
to  do  or  to  observe.  I  attached  myself,  therefore,  to  Captain 
Muratt,  a  young  Swiss  officer  in  the  Neapolitan  service,  who  ac- 
companied the  army  as  an  amateur,  and  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
find  my  companion  a  well-informed,  experienced  gentleman,  who 
was  enthusiastic  for  everything  rising  above  every- day  life. 

The  great  plain  of  Bona  becomes  narrower  toward  the  south, 
above  the  camp  of  Drean,  and  appears  as  a  small  valley  leading 
through  the  mountains.  Following  it  we  found,  on  a  spot  where 
the  rivulet  Mya-Berda  winds  through  a  ravine,  thirteen  Arab 
tomb- stones,  erected,  according  to  tradition,  in  memory  of  thirteen 
Arabs  who  were  killed  here  by  lions.  Up  to  the  occupation  of 
the  country  by  the  French,  the  mountains  of  this  neighbourhood 
had  been  often  visited  by  lions  ;  but  the  frequent  lion-chases  of  the 
officers,  and  the  good  prices  which  lion-skins  fetched  in  the  market 
of  Bona,  encouraging  the  natives  in  hunting,  the  kingly  beast  has 
been  driven  to  the  more  southern  lonely  plateaus  of  the  Atlas. 


88  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

We  reached  the  camp  of  Neshmeya  after  a  seven  hours'  march 
from  the  camp  of  Drean.  In  military  estimate,  it  is  a  wretched 
position,  as  it  is  overlooked  from  several  hills  in  the  neighbour- 
hood ;  but  the  French  relied  upon  the  laziness  and  short-sighted- 
ness of  the  Arabs,  who  would  not  take  advantage  of  the  ground. 
Yet,  after  the  success  of  the  expedition,  this  camp  was  given 
up,  and  the  neat  village,  constructed  from  twigs,  close  to  the 
camp  also  disappeared,  without  leaving  a  trace  of  its  ephe- 
meral existence.  The  next  French  camp  on  the  way  to  Constan- 
tine  was  Hammam-Berda :  the  road  continues  through  moun- 
tains, but  the  character  of  the  Atlas  is  here  less  rugged  and 
rough  than  on  the  coast.  The  mountain-peaks  seldom  tower  more 
than  1000  feet  above  the  plateau,  and  the  mountain -ranges  are 
covered  with  black  earth  and  sunny  green  meadows.  The  name 
of  the  camp  has  been  derived  from  the  hot  springs  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, for  the  Arabs  call  all  the  thermal  springs  Hammam 
(baths),  and  add  the  name  of  the  next  tribe  to  designate  the  loca- 
lity. At  Hammam-Berda  we  found  many  ruins,  which  clearly 
prove  that  the  Romans  had  used  these  springs  extensively  for 
medical  purposes.  A  massive  reservoir  is  still  in  good  preserva- 
tion. The  hot  spring  rushes  in  a  horizontal  direction  from  the 
cliff  through  an  artificial  mouth:  and  it  would  seem  that  the  water 
was  first  carried  thither  by  the  Romans.  The  reservoir  which  re- 
ceives the  spring  is  of  oval  form,  twenty -two  feet  long,  and  ten 
wide ;  hence  the  water  used  to  rush  to  a  larger  basin  on  a  lower 
level :  but  this  is  now  destroyed,  and  is  covered  with  weed  and 
bushes.  It  had  an  oval  form,  and  was  100  feet  by  70.  The 
remains  are  built  of  cut  square  stones  of  considerable  size.  The 
thermometer  showed  for  the  water  a  temperature  of  29°  Reaumur 
{93j  of  Fahrenheit).  A  few  sepulchral  inscriptions  were  found 
at  this  place,  which  the  Romans  called  Aquae  Tibilitanae. 

The  camp  of  Hammam-Berda  was  the  most  comfortable  of  all 
the  camps  of  the  province  of  Constantine,  from  its  quiet,  its  fine 
scenery,  and  its  baths,  which  the  French  officers  used  every  day. 
The  neighbourhood  of  the  springs  is  covered  by  a  bush  vegetation. 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  89 

greener,  and  more  luxuriant  and  blooming  than  any  I  had  seen 
elsewhere  in  North  Africa.  Egyptian  willows,  wild  vines,  and, 
in  particular,  oleander  shrubs,  which  attain  here  the  height  of 
eighteen  feet,  and  are  studded  with  red  blossoms,  form  a  shining 
garland  all  along  the  thermal  water  and  the  cool  rivulet  which 
winds  its  way  through  the  narrow  valley. 

Half  an  hour's  ride  from  Hammam-Berda,  carried  us  to  the 
large  valley  of  the  Seybuss,  an  extensive  country  of  remarkable 
fertility,  which  must  have  been  densely  peopled  in  ancient  times. 
The  whole  valley  is  covered  with  ruins  of  Roman  towns,  forts, 
and  isolated  buildings.  The  Seybuss  is  here  very  shallow,  the 
bed  of  the  river  being  filled  with  stones,  whilst  the  banks  are 
low;  they  are  well  wooded  with  wild  cypresses  and  tamarisks. 
The  centre  of  the  valley  is  occupied  by  the  camp  of  Ghelma,  on 
the  slope  of  the  mountain  range  of  Mauna.  It  is  built  out  of  the 
ruins  of  ancient  Calama,  which  cover  an  extent  of  three  miles  in 
circumference.  This  large  Roman  city  was  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake. The  French  camp  is  of  solid  structure,  the  building 
materials  being  at  hand.  It  was  founded  during  the  disastrous  re- 
treat of  Marshal  Clauzel,  first  as  a  kind  of  hospital,  and  as  a  safe 
retreat  for  all  the  invalids  and  stragglers,  who,  overcome  by 
fatigue,  were  unable  to  follow  the  army;  they  found  here  an  asylum 
and  resting-place.  It  is  the  same  spot,  where,  nearly  two  thousand 
years  back,  the  legions  of  Aulus  Postumius  Albinus  were  cut  to 
pieces  by  Jugurtha.  Marshal  Clauzel  left  Colonel  Duvivier  with 
one  battalion  among  the  ruins,  and  this  talented  energetic  officer 
willingly  undertook  the  task,  to  erect  here  in  the  wilderness  a 
place  of  arras,  impregnable  to  Arabs,  with  a  handful  of  soldiers, 
weakened  and  dispirited  by  sickness  and  reverses,  without  re- 
sources, without  tents  for  shelter  against  the  rain,  or  any 
sufficient  supply  of  food.  An  elongated  quadrangular  wall  was 
still  standing  amidst  the  ruins,  evidently  heaped  up  from  the  scat- 
tered remains  of  the  destroyed  city,  by  some  new  invader,  the 
Numidian  or  the  Arab,  as  a  means  of  defence.  Colonel  Duvi- 
vier quartered  his  troops  inside  this  wall;   he  had  it  repaired 


90  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

and  raised  to  double  the  height;  and  constructed  rough  barracks 
from  the  ruins.     The  hungry  troops  were  soon  provided  with 
victuals  from  Bona;  in  a  few  weeks,  a  regular  communication  was 
established  between  the  two  places,  and  every  fortnight  a  convoy 
was  sent  with  provisions  to  the  garrison.     Soon  after,  many  spe- 
culators, French  and  Maltese,  settled  here,  and  constructed  coffee- 
houses, shops,  and  taverns.     Broken  columns  and  pillars  of  por- 
phyry supported  smoky  public-houses,  enframed  by  temple-ruins. 
There  we  saw  the  sign-board  of  the  wine- shop — "  Ici  on  donne 
h  boire  et  h.  manger,"  close  to  a  mutilated  T^atin  inscription,  fitted 
into  the  wall,  which  was  the  sepulchral  record  of  a  Roman  pro- 
consul.    Such  a  desecration  of  the  relics  of  the  great  conquerors, 
is  revolting  in  a  nation  which  talks  so  much  about  civilization 
and  respect  for  science.      But  we  find  in  the  French  people, 
and  especially  in  the  French  armies  and  its  camp-followers,  a 
wanton  destructiveness,  which  can  hardly  be  controlled  by  the 
orders  of  enlightened  generals,  or  by  the  endeavours  of  educated 
officers.     In  Algiers,  fine  orange-trees  were  felled  for  fire- wood  in 
1830.     In  Tlemsan,  the  beams  of  elegant  Moorish  houses  were 
cut  out  for  similar  purposes,  and  this  proceeding  subsequently  led 
to  the  ruin  of  entire  streets.     The  gardens  of  the  Dey,  the  palace 
of  Abd-el-Kader  in  Mascara,  and  the  Moorish  villas  on  Mount 
Bujarea,  were  recklessly  sacked.     So  too  the  ruins  of  Calama, 
which  had  been  respected  by  Arab  indolence,  were  wantonly  de- 
stroyed by  French  soldiers  and  settlers.     Columns  were  thrown 
down,  because  they  stood  in  the  way  of  a  wine-cellar,  and  funeral 
inscriptions  were  broken  to  pave  a  tavern.     Pages  of  history 
which  told  us  what  Calama  had  been,  and  who  had  ruled  and  lived 
here,  the  eloquent  monuments  of  a  great  past,  were  reduced  by  a 
few  strokes  of  the  hammer,  into  dumb  stones.     It  was  not  fana- 
ticism, like  that  of  the  early  Arabs,  which  prompted  the  French 
to  such  Vandalism ;  it  was  the  most  petty  and  miserable  love  of 
lucre,  the  old  monuments  being  more  handy  for  building  mate- 
rial than  the  stones.      I  often  met  with  soldiers  occupied  in 
breaking  inscriptions,  or  hammering  away  bas-reliefs,  in  order  to 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONST ANTINE.  91 

fit  the 'stone  easier  into  a  well,  and  it  was  in  vain  to  repeat  our 
complaints  to  Colonel  Duvivier,  when  we  partook  of  his  coffee  in 
the  barracks.  He  complained  of  the  destructiveness  of  his  sol- 
diers, who  did  not  comply  with  his  orders ;  but  he  declared  that 
there  was  no  remed3^  He  said,  "  an  old  stone  does  not  require  so 
much  time  for  fitting,  as  a  new  one  to  be  brought  from  the  quarry; 
and  whoever  is  acquainted  with  the  endless  toils  of  the  African 
soldier,  will,  after  all,  find  it  natural,  if  he  has  no  antiquarian 
scruples  against  saving  labour  to  deter  him  from  destroying 
ancient  inscriptions."  Duvivier's  remarks  were  quite  natural, 
and  he  had  probably  the  same  feelings  as  his  soldiers.  It  was 
no  enthusiasm  for  a  new  French- African  empire,  but  ambition 
which  prompted  him  to  exert  his  energies  to  the  utmost,  and 
this  ambition  was  not  that  of  extending  civilization  into  the 
countries  of  Barbary,  but  the  desire  of  becoming  general,  with 
the  marshal's  baton  in  prospect.  When  he  founded  the  camp  of 
Ghelma,  he  did  not  care  for  the  interest  of  antiquarians  or  of  scien- 
tific societies ;  but  his  sole  aim  was  to  raise  without  delay  a  place  of 
arms  which  might  keep  Ahmet  Bey  in  check.  Provided  that  the 
soldiers  rajsed  the  necessary  fortifications  and  barracks  in  the 
shortest  time,  they  might  have  destroyed  all  the  seven  wonders  of 
antiquity. 

But  we  must  confess  that  this  camp  was  most  picturesque. 
The  houses,  hospitals,  stables,  shops,  and  inns,  built  of  the  most 
different  stones,  of  polished  porphyry,  marble,  basalt,  and  frag- 
ments of  temple-columns,  interspersed  with  antique  Roman  and 
modern  French  inscriptions,  had  something  uncommon,  surrounded 
as  they  were  by  ancient  ruins  and  African  vegetation.  The  most 
important  ruin  we  saw,  was  an  amphitheatre,  which,  like  all  the 
antique  buildings  of  that  kind,  afforded  a  splendid  view  over  the 
finest  part  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  ancients  knew  how 
to  take  advantage  of  fine  scenery. 

A  new  high-road  of  very  steep  descent  leads  in  five  hours  from 
Ghelma  to  Mejez-Ammar.  Mejez-Ammar  is  the  name  of  a 
circular  valley,   surrounded  by  mountains  and  divided  by  the 


9^  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

Seybuss,  which  is  here  fordable.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  the 
valley  was  full  of  life  and  movement ;  10,000  men  were  assembled 
here,  green- houses  and  saloons  built  of  frail  mastich  twigs  forming 
large  streets.  But  when  the  trumpet  and  drum  called  us  to  Con- 
stantino, that  improvised  city  vanished  without  leaving  a  trace, 
like  the  palaces  of  the  Arabian  nights.  It  was  destroyed,  lest  it 
might  become  a  robber-den  for  the  Bedouins. 

On  the  28th  September  the  Duke  of  Nemours  made  a  visit  to 
the  thermal  springs  of  Hammam-Meskhutin.  Colonel  Duvivier 
was  the  first  Frenchman  who,  attracted  by  the  singular  accounts 
of  the  Arabs,  had  made  an  excursion  from  Ghelma  to  those 
smoking  rocks  and  boiling  waters,  and  he  was  so  much  struck  by 
the  wild  scenery  that  he  made  a  most  enthusiastic  report  to  Mar- 
shal Clauzel.  We  were  all  curious  for  the  sight  which  was  able 
to  warm  up  even  such  a  cold  soldier  as  the  Colonel. 

The  way  to  Hammam-Meskhutin,  (the  baths  of  the  accursed), 
over  deep  ravines  and  dense  thickets,  is  very  difficult.  The 
roaring  of  the  boiling  cascade,  and  the  steam  rising  in  clouds 
from  the  spring,  can  be  perceived  from  a  considerable  distance ; 
but  before  arriving  in  full  view  of  the  waters,  the  eye  rests 
astonished  on  the  numerous  sugar-loaf  rocks  which  rise  from  the 
even  ground  like  isolated  Arab  tents.  The  hue  and  size  of  these 
cones  varies  from  deep  grey  to  the  brightest  white,  and  from  two 
feet  to  twenty,  many  of  tliem  are  continually  steaming.  The 
Arabs  account  for  this  phenomenon  by  the  following  tale  :  "  In 
ancient  times  a  rich  and  mighty  Arab  chief  lived  here,  who  fell 
in  love  with  his  own  sister,  and  wished  to  marry  her.  But  Kadi 
and  Marabuts  refused  to  sanction  such  a  union,  which  is  forbidden 
by  the  Koran,  and  accursed  by  God.  Still,  bribed  by  the  riches  and 
overawed  by  the  threats  of  the  chief,  they  at  last  consented  to  draw 
up  the  marriage  agreement,  and  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  betrothed 
in  order  to  partake  of  the  feast.  The  crowd  wished  likewise  to 
be  present  at  the  festive  occasion,  and  assembled  with  pipes  and 
drums.  Kuskusu  was  boiled  in  immense  caldrons,  to  be  distri- 
buted not  only  to  the  guests,  but  likewise  to  all  the  passers-by. 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  93 

Music  delighted  the  ears,  and  dance  the  eyes  of  the  guests,  when 
God,  in  just  wrath  against  the  godless  banquet,  hurled  his  curse 
on  the  betrothed,  the  Kadi,  the  Marabut,  and  the  assembled  crowd. 
The  musicians  and  dancing  girls  were  all  transformed  into  stones, 
and  these  are  the  conical  rocks  which  cover  the  spring  of  Ham- 
mara-Meskhutin.  The  highest  cone  is  the  Marabut,  who  had  rati- 
fied the  incest.  The  crowd  fled  from  the  scene  of  desolation,  but 
the  curse  reached  them  on  their  way ;  they  were  turned  into  rocks ; 
and  you  see  them  in  the  indented  cliffs  which  tower  above  the  bed 
of  the  Wad-el- Meskhutin.  The  boiling  caldrons  where  the  meal 
was  prepared,  were  accursed  to  boil  for  ever,  and  it  is  from  them 
that  the  steam  issues  which  we  see  here ;  the  sulphureous  smell 
announces  from  afar  that  this  is  an  accursed  spot,  and  that 
the  wrath  of  God  is  to  reach  all  those  who  drink  from  those 
waters — called  therefore  Hammam-Meskhutin,  the  bath  of  the 
accursed." 

For  us  the  natural  causes  of  those  rock-cones  were  less  romantic, 
though  more  instructive.  The  boiling  water,  which  in  different 
parts  of  the  valley  spouts  from  the  soil,  contains  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime,  which  is  deposited  on  the 
ground  when  the  water  evaporates.  In  this  way  a  calcareous 
stratum  of  whitish-rosy  hue,  is  formed  around  the  mouth  of  the 
spring.  By-and-by  the  water-spout  deposits  new  strata,  raising 
the  mouth,  and  increasing  the  diameter  of  the  lower  portion  by 
dripping  down.  In  this  way  those  cones  increase  in  size,  until 
at  last  the  spout  obstructs  the  outlet  on  the  top  of  the  pyramid, 
and  the  water  is  forced  to  seek  a  new  outlet.  Commander 
Levaillant,  who,  on  his  sporting  excursions,  had  often  visited  the 
valley,  was  once  present  at  such  a  new  eruption  of  water.  It 
had  at  that  moment  80°  Reaumur,  (212°  of  Fahrenheit).  In 
other  places  I  found  the  heat  70°.  All  over  the  valley  we  see 
rocks  of  a  quite  recent  formation;  those  next  to  the  spring 
being  white  as  snow,  soft,  and  consisting  of  pure  carbonate  of 
lime.  Farther  back  we  see  cones  reddish-white,  emitting  a  light 
steam  j  the  spring  having  evidently  not  long  ago  closed  its  outlet. 


94  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

Others  again,  which  are  grey  and  hard,  have  heen  formed  in  past 
ages. 

On  the  plateau  of  the  right  bank  of  the  Seybuss,  between  Mejez- 
Hammar  and  Hammam-Meskhutin,  we  met  with  a  system  of 
rocks,  so  entirely  similar  to  the  cones  of  the  accursed  springs, 
as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they  have  been  produced  in  the  same 
way;  but  no  trace  of  a  thermal  spring  is  now  found  in  their 
vicinity.  And  even  between  Mejez-Hammar  and  Gelma  we  again 
see  a  similar  formation.  It  seems  that  the  springs  have  receded 
in  the  course  of  thousands  and  thousands  of  years  to  their  present 
position. 

Hammam-Meskhutin  is  a  most  interesting  spot  in  a  geolo- 
gical point  of  view;  but  in  order  to  study  it  thoroughly,  more 
time  is  required  than  we  were  able  to  afford.  We  could  not  make 
observations,  for  we  saw  the  valley  only  as  tourists  and  dilet- 
tanti. We  had  often  requested  General  Damremont  to  grant 
us  an  escort  of  fifty  horsemen,  to  protect  us  against  the  hordes 
of .  Ahmet-Bey ;  but  the  General  never  found  that  he  could 
spare  fifty  horsemen  for  the  Scientific  Commission.  When, 
however,  the  Duke  of  Nemours  expressed  his  desire  to  see 
the  scenery  of  the  place,  three  regiments  were  spared  to  accom- 
pany him  thither,  and  we  were  indebted  to  the  curiosity  of  the 
Prince  for  affording  us  an  opportunity  of  at  least  seeing  this 
memorable  spot. 

Considerable  ruins  of  an  old  Roman  bath  in  good  preservation 
embellish  this  strange  locality  by  their  picturesque  forms.  The 
Roman  aqueduct  set  out  from  a  conical  lime  rock,  which  at  that 
time  must  have  contained  the  principal  spring.  Now  it  is  en- 
tirely cold,  though  it  does  not  stand  far  from  the  present  principal 
spring.  We  could  trace  distinctly  the  ruins  of  a  public  bath,  and 
several  smaller  private  basins.  Another  bath  was  surrounded  by 
fine  arches  of  square  stones,  and  a  wall  seems  to  have  served  for 
defence.  On  a  sepulchral  monument  we  made  out  the  name  of  a 
Pomponius,  styled  an  illustrious  man,  Vir  Clarus.  Yet  it  is 
strange  that  none  of  the  ancient  authors  on  Nuraidia  mentions  this 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  95 

establishment,  though,  to  judge  from  the  extent  of  its  ruins,  it 
must  have  been  important. 

After  we  had  admired  for  a  while  the  vallej'',  with  its  strange 
conical  rocks,  its  ruins  and  steaming  gaps,  we  were  led  to  a 
grand  object,  surpassing  the  beauties  of  Switzerland  and  the 
Tyrol.  This  is  the  great  water-fall  of  hot  water  east  of  the 
Sugar-loaf  Rocks,  falling  from  milk-white  cliffs,  which  increase 
daily  by  the  deposit  of  the  cascades.  Whilst  other  water-falls 
are  constantly  receding  by  wearing  out  the  rocks,  that  of  Ham- 
mam-Meskhutin  advances  continually.  The  scene  reminded  me 
much  of  the  glaciers  of  Switzerland,  for  the  lime  cliffs  of  Hammam- 
Meskhutin  have  entirely  the  hue  of  fresh  snow,  and  only  here 
and  there  do  we  see  a  yellowish- red  brimstone  efflorescence.  The 
figures  formed  by  the  deposits  of  the  spring  are  most  fantastical, 
changing  their  size  and  aspect  incessantly.  From  above  this 
rock  and  its  curious  indentations,  the  boiling  stream  falls  thunder- 
ing and  foaming  into  the  abyss,  divided  by  the  uneven  mass  of 
the  rocks  into  many  smaller  cascades,  which  leap  from  step  to 
step  into  the  large  basin  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  where  they  unite 
in  the  hot  river  Wad-el -Meskhutin,  running  southwards.  The 
banks  and  the  whole  neighbourhood  of  the  springs  are  adorned 
by  a  splendid  vegetation.  We  found  the  scilla  maritima  in  full 
bloom,  its  white  high  flower-stems  adorning  the  valley  and  the 
rocks.  We  met  with  them  among  the  ruins,  and  often  likewise 
bathing  their  tops  in  the  hot  water,  where,  in  a  few  minutes,  the 
lime  incrustated  the  flower.  The  beautiful  iris  alata  glistened, 
with  her  sky-blue  butterfly  flowers,  through  the  green  vegetation. 
On  the  foot  of  the  rock  I  found  the  rare  Lawsonia  inermis, 
the  henna  of  the  Arabs,  from  which  they  prepare  the  red 
for  dyeing  the  nails  of  their  fingers.  The  geranium  numidicum, 
the  passeriana  hirsuta,  and  the  Daphne  spyridion,  also  embel- 
lished the  valley  of  the  cliffs  and  smoking  waters,  as  if  the 
Elysium  and  the  Tartarus  of  the  ancients  were  here  blended 
together. 

The  defile  of  the  Ras-el-Akba  is  only  three  hours'  distance 


96  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

from  the  camp  of  Mejez-Hammar ;  but  the  immense  baggage-train, 
and  the  cold  rain,  detained  the  march  from  morning  till  late  in 
the  afternoon.  In  the  meantime,  Captain  Muralt  and  I  ascended 
the  highest  peak,  which  towers  800  feet  above  the  pass.  It  is  a 
primary  lime- formation,  full  of  crevices,  cracks,  and  holes,  evincing 
some  great  Plutonic  catastrophe.  The  upper  part  of  the  moun- 
tain is  a  mere  steep  cliff  without  vegetation.  Under  the  broken 
stones,  I  found  a  large  specimen  of  the  twelve-eyed  scorpion,  and 
several  other  insects — as,  for  instance,  the  Acinopus  ohesus,  and 
a  new  species  of  a  small  green  white- spotted  lizard.  The  view 
from  the  top  was  not  satisfactory — nothing  being  seen  but  barren 
mountains  and  plateaus.  The  defile  is  2448  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  We  returned  in  the  evening,  just  when  the  tents  were 
being  pitched.  East  of  our  temporary  camp  were  the  ruins  of 
a  Roman  city,  the  name  of  which  is  as  yet  unknown ;  the  Arabs 
call  it  Aminah.  It  must  have  been  a  place  of  considerable  wealth 
and  extent.  We  saw  several  well-preserved  buildings,  triumphal 
arches,  gates,  temples,  the  remains  of  a  theatre,  and  many  marble 
slabs  adorned  with  bas-reliefs.  But  the  city  must  have  witnessed 
several  catastrophes,  since  some  of  these  buildings  are  erected 
from  the  fragments  of  more  ancient  fabrics.  A  Christian  church, 
for  instance,  contamed  remains  of  broken  columns  and  marble 
slabs,  formerly  belonging  to  different  heathen  monuments.  It  is 
now  ruined  in  its  turn ;  but  the  large  limestone  cross  on  its  top 
has  withstood  all  the  ravages  of  time  and  barbarism.  I  was 
tempted  to  carry  away  some  sculptured  fragments,  but  the  work- 
manship was  as  indifferent  as  that  of  the  other  Roman- African 
sculptures,  which,  in  fact,  have  scarcely  any  artistical  importance. 
Yet  these  ruins  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind,  even  more 
than  those  of  Egypt  and  Asia-Minor.  There  we  pass  over  illus- 
trious relics;  we  know  their  history  from  the  time  when  they 
have  been  built,  up  to  the  time  when  we  visit  them.  But  here 
we  see  the  dumb  witnesses  of  fallen  greatness  without  knowing 
their  former  name,  or  their  history,  from  the  time  when  Genseric 
had  entered  them  with  his  northern  barbarians.     No  record  has 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  97 

been  preserved  of  their  fate ;  and  oblivion  has  drawn  over  them 
an  impenetrable  veil. 

The  way  from  E-as-el-Akba  to  Constantino  leads  through  a 
barren  plateau,  devoid  of  vegetation.  For  five  days  we  saw  but 
a  single  grove  of  trees ;  Arab  tombs  being  the  only  objects  which 
varied  the  dull  monotony  of  the  country.  The  soldiers  had  to 
collect  thistles  or  weeds  for  their  camp  fires,  and  even  the  few 
Arab  encampments  on  our  way  were  destroyed  by  the  order  of 
Ahmet,  previous  to  our  arrival. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  we  reached  El-Summah,  a  Roman 
monument,  which  remained  a  riddle  to  our  archaeologists.  On 
the  top  of  a  hill,  a  high  square  building  rises,  surrounded  by  a 
flight  of  steps,  and  supported  in  front  by  four  columns;  but  at 
the  foot  of  this  apparent  temple  there  is  so  great  a  quantity  of  square 
stones  heaped  up,  which  must  have  tumbled  down  from  the  monu- 
ment, that  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  original  shape  of  the  top. 

The  distance  of  Constantine  from  El-Summah  is  only  eight 
miles.  The  country  becomes  here  more  genial.  We  saw  an 
elongated  narrow  valley,  through  which  the  Rummel  winds  its 
way  to  the  west,  and  in  the  back  ground  we  perceived  for  the 
first  time,  after  five  days'  march,  trees  and  human  dwellings 
between  the  plateau  El  Man  sura  in  the  west,  and  the  mountain 
of  Kudiat- Ati  in  the  east.  Olive-trees  likewise  adorn  the  banks 
of  the  Rummel ;  but  as  the  groves  were  filled  with  Arab  horse- 
men, none  of  us  had  the  courage  to  visit  them. 

Constantine  is  built  on  the  top  of  a  perpendicularly  escarped 
cliff,  which  is  only  connected  eastward  with  the  mountain  Kudiat- 
Ati  by  a  narrow  neck.  The  city  has  a  slope  towards  the  south- 
east, and  rises  more  than  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  valley  of  the 
Rummel.  The  site  affords  sufficient  evidence  that  the  security  of 
the  country  never  could  have  been  great.  The  mighty  barren  rock 
fastness,  too  high  for  the  storming  ladder,  too  strong  for  the  batter- 
ing-ram, and  even  for  the  forty-eight  pounder,  was  formerly  consi- 
dered, and  was  still  viewed,  as  preferable  to  a  dwelling  in  the  de- 
lightful valley  of  the  river,  amidst  its  orange  and  pomegranate  trees. 

G 


^8  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

Constantlne  is  the  Cirta  of  the  ancients,  in  the  country  of  the 
Massaesylians.  The  name  means  in  the  Shemitic  languages, 
city — the  residence  of  the  Numidian  kings  being  appropriately 
styled  in  this  way.  Syphax,  the  Gaetulian  prince,  resided  here 
at  the  time  of  the  second  Punic  war,  in  a  splendid  palace.  But 
as  he  sided  with  Carthage,  his  city  was  handed  over  to  Massi- 
nissa,  the  ally  of  Rome.  For  sixty  years,  Cirta  remained  the 
residence  of  that  fortunate  prince ;  and  in  the  time  of  Micipsa,  his 
son,  it  was,  according  to  Strabo,  adorned  by  splendid  buildings, 
and  could  furnish  ten  thousand  horsemen  and  twenty  thousand  foot 
soldiers.  These  numbers  are  evidently  exaggerated,  for  the  extent 
of  ancient  Cirta,  on  this  isolated  rock,  could  not  have  been  larger 
than  it  is  at  present.  The  contingents  of  the  valley  beneath  must, 
therefore,  have  been  included  in  these  figures.  Jugurtha  took  the 
city  by  starvation ;  for,  as  Sallust  assures  us,  "  Cirta  cannot  be 
conquered  by  assault."  The  Romans  got  possession  of  it,  after 
a  long  siege,  by  blockade ;  and  the  Numidian  prince  was  unable 
to  reconquer  his  capital.  At  the  time  of  the  first  Juba,  the 
splendour  of  Cirta  was  yet  untarnished;  but  a  strange  fatality 
impelled  the  rulers  of  that  city  always  to  side  with  the  unsuccessful 
party.  Juba  was  subdued  with  the  fall  of  Pompeius ;  and  Csesar 
gave  the  country  around  Cirta  to  his  partizan  Sitius,  who  placed 
here  Roman  soldiers,  and  transformed  the  Phojnician  name  of 
Cirta  into  the  Roman  Colonia  Sitianorum.  In  311,  the  usurper 
Alexander  got  possession  of  the  city,  but  Maxentius  defeated 
him,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  took  Cirta  by  storm.  The 
city  was  rebuilt  by  the  Emperor  Constantino,  a  name  which  has 
been  corrupted  by  the  Arabs  into  Cossamtina.  The  later  history 
under  the  Vandals,  the  Byzantine  Emperors,  the  Arabs,  and  Turks, 
is  entirely  unknown.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  French  expedition,  it 
was  nearly  inaccessible  to  Europeans,  and  utterly  unexplored. 

Constantino  is  a  third  smaller  in  extent  than  Algiers,  and  has 
a  population  of  about  twenty  -five  thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  four 
gates :  Bab-el-Kantarah,  or  the  "  Bridge-gate,"  leading  over  the 
Roman  bridge  across  the  Ruramel  to  the  plateau  El-Mansurah ; 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE.  99 

Bab-el-Rahbah,  or  the  Market-gate,  and  the  two  smaller  gates, 
El-Tedid,  (New-gate,)  and  El- Wad,  or  the  Water-gate,  leading  to 
the  Kudiat-Ati.  The  streets,  though  less  narrow  than  those  in  the 
upper  part  of  Algiers,  are  angular  and  dirty.  The  city  is  not  im- 
portant in  commercial  respects ;  the  shops  and  stalls  of  the  Jews 
and  Moors  are  poor,  for  the  Arabs  of  the  country  around  Constan- 
tine  do  not  require  many  of  the  luxuries  of  the  cities.  Boots  and 
slippers,  saddlery,  looking-glasses,  pipes,  and  gold  embroidery,  are 
all  that  they  require  from  the  merchant.  The  principal  income 
of  the  citizens  arises  from  their  mules  and  asses,  by  which  they 
carry  the  produce  of  the  interior  to  Tunis.  They  are  also  the 
carriers  for  a  portion  of  the  African  trade;  not  indeed  of  the  wares 
of  Sudan,  since  the  caravans  from  Timbuctu,  Bornu,  and  Gha- 
dames  do  not  take  their  way  through  the  province  of  Constantine 
— but  the  Oasis- States,  Tuggurt,  and  the  country  of  the  Moza- 
bites,  send  their  dates  and  hides,  by  Biskara  and  Constantine  to 
Tunis.  Before  the  occupation  of  the  city,  the  French  had  always 
believed  that  Constantine  ,was  important  for  commerce,  and  many 
Jewish  and  Christian  jobbers  had  accompanied  the  army  with  the 
intention  of  buying  the  booty  from  the  soldiers;  but  they  trans- 
acted very  little  business.  Scarcely  any  valuable  articles  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  plundering  parties,  except  victuals  and 
cash,  which  last,  of  course,  was  kept  by  them. 

Constantine  has  ten  large  mosques,  and  about  doable  the 
number  of  smaller  praying-houses,  but  scarcely  four  or  five  are 
provided  with  high  minarets.  Their  only  ornaments  are  mar- 
ble columns,  and  artificially  entwined  Arab  inscriptions  on  the 
walls.  One  of  them  has  been  transformed  into  a  Christian  church, 
others  into  barracks  and  store-houses.  The  principal  building 
of  the  city  is  the  palace  of  the  Bey,  in  the  centre  of  the  town, 
surrounded  by  gardens,  baths,  and  court-yards.  It  consists  of 
eight  irregular  buildings,  communicating  with  one  another,  but 
not  at  all  imposing  from  the  outside.  Yet  when  we  entered 
and  saw  the  large  columnar  hall,  we  were  surprised  at  the  ele- 
gance, symmetry,  and  neatness  of  Moorish  architecture,  and  when 


1 00  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

we  inhaled  the  scent  of  the  orange  and  pomegranate  trees  in  the 
garden,  and  heard  the  rustling  fountains  and  water-spouts,  and 
the  roaring  of  the  lions  which  were  kept  in  one  of  the  courts,  we 
had  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  old  Khalif  palaces  of  Bagdad.  The 
walls  of  the  colonnade  in  the  first  large  garden-yard,  full  of 
orange-trees,  are  adorned  by  rough  fresco  representations  of  naval 
engagements,  and  of  the  principal  Mussulman  cities:  such  as 
Constantinople,  Cairo,  Tunis;  but  we  should  not  have  recognized 
them,  had  not  the  inscriptions  beneath  them  told  us  what  they 
meant  to  represent.  Constantine  was  likewise  depicted,  and 
over  the  Bey's  palace  we  read  the  following  lines — "  This  palace 
dazzles  the  eyes  of  the  spectator  with  its  beauty.  El-Haji- Ahmet- 
Pasha,  is  the  Sultan  who  dwells  here.  May  God  grant  him  vic- 
tory over  the  people  of  the  infidels !  God  has  scattered  his  enemies 
as  the  wind  scatters  the  dust.  May  his  glory  and  power  always 
be  increased !  May  God  grant  him  the  palaces  of  Paradise,  and 
people  them  with  millions  of  H6oris.  But  be  it  done  as  pleases  God ! 
Amen."  The  second  yard  contains  the  bath  ;  the  third  is  adorned 
by  water-spouts  and  water-basins,  enlivened  by  golden-fishes;  the 
fourth  is  the  lion-yard,  and  the  keeper  of  the  beasts  is  a  Ger- 
man renegado.  The  finest  specimen  of  the  lions  was  sent  to  the 
Jardin  de  Plantes  at  Paris;  others  were  killed,  as  their  food  was 
deemed  too  expensive. 

The  citadel  is  built  on  the  highest  rock  in  the  city,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  walls,  composed  of  the  ruins  of  old  Cirta.  Inside  we 
found  a  well-preserved  Christian  church  in  the  Byzantine  style, 
which  had  been  turned  by  the  janissaries  into  barracks.  West- 
wards from  the  citadel,  a  steep  rock  overhangs  the  valley  of  the 
Rummel,  just  where  the  river  forms  a  foaming  cascade.  This 
was  the  Tarpeian  rock  of  the  ancient  Cirta — the  place  where 
felons  and  faithless  women  were  hurled  into  the  abyss  in  succes- 
sion by  Romans,  Vandals,  and  Mohammedans.  We  found  only  a 
few  remains  of  antiquity  in  Constantine;  for  instance,  a  portion  of 
a  triumphal  arch,  erected  in  honour  of  Caius  Claudius,  a  procon- 
sul, and  two  others  without  any  inscription.     The  most  important 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  101 

ancient  fabric,  is  the  celebrated  bridge,  carried  across  the  abyss  of 
El-Hauah,  and  the  river  Rummel  which  runs  through  it,  to  the 
plateau  El-Mansurah.  It  had  been  rebuilt,  having  been  much 
defaced  in  1793.  We  made  out  two  antique  elephants,  with  short 
trunks,  sculptured  on  its  piers.  The  length  of  the  bridge  is  310 
feet,  and  its  height  312  feet;  it  is  therefore  one  of  the  highest  arched 
bridges  in  the  world.  The  remains  of  an  aqueduct  in  the  valley  be- 
tween El-Mansurah  and  Kudiat- Ati,  are  likewise  a  noble  ruin  ;  but 
only  six  arches  are  preserved;  we  could  not  find  any  continuation 
to  them,  as  the  stones  had  all  been  carried  away  for  building. 

The  great  valley  of  the  Rummel,  north-west  of  Constantine,  is 
nearly  as  fertile,  and  still  more  picturesque  than  Belida.  The 
river  disappears  here  entirely  under  the  rocks,  and  reappears  again 
beneath  the  citadel,  where  it  forms  a  threefold  thundering  cascade 
of  about  300  feet.  I  scarcely  ever  saw  a  more  varied  scene. 
There  are  gigantic  dark  rocks,  from  which  the  foaming  river 
leaps  down,  surrounded  by  mighty  groves  of  trees — high  above, 
the  sombre  city  perched  on  the  cliffs,  and  beneath,  a  paradise  of 
flowers  and  bushes,  enlivened  by  butterflies  and  humming-bees. 
Even  my  friend  Muralt,  a  native  of  Berne,  and  a  resident  in 
Naples,  was  surprised  by  the  magnificence  of  the  scenery. 


CHATPER  VII. 

EXCURSION    FROM   ALGIERS   TO   THE   WEST. 

Shershel  (Julia  Caesarea)  is  the  first  important  place  on  the 
coast  westward  from  Algiers.  Like  all  the  other  Moorish  sea- 
port towns,  it  is  surrounded  by  a  fertile  plain,  full  of  orange  and 
pomegranate  groves;  and,  like  other  Mohammedan  cities  it  looks 
very  picturesque  and  splendid  from  the  outside,  adorned  as  it  is 
with  massive  cupolas  and  slender  mosque  towers.  It  has  now 
no  harbour ;  the  ancient  one  has  been  filled  up  by  the  fall  of  the 
Roman  light-house,  which  an  earthquake  overthrew.      Besides, 


102  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

as  modern  ships  draw  more  water  than  ancient  Roman  galleys, 
this  sea- port,  like  others  celebrated  in  antiquity  (for  instance  that 
of  Carthage),  is  quite  unfit  for  modern  commerce, 

AYe  soon  reached  Tenez,  a  miserable  place,  once  the  capital  of  a 
small  kingdom,  but  now  renowned  only  for  its  dirt  and  filth,  which 
are  immortalized  by  an  epigram  of  the  Marabut  author,  Hammet- 
Ben-Usaph,  known  all  over  Barbary.  "  Tenez,"  he  says,  "  is 
built  on  a  dunghill;  its  water  is  blood,  its  air  is  poison;  Hammet- 
Ben-Usaph  would  not  dwell  there."  Among  the  Moors,  there  is 
a  tradition,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Tenez  were  renowned  sor- 
cerers, and  that  Pharaoh  of  Egypt  sent  for  them  in  order  to 
confound  the  miracles  of  Moses,  and  that  up  to  the  present  day 
they  were  the  greatest  rogues  of  Barbary.  Mines  of  copper  and 
lead,  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood,  promise  considerable  future ' 
prosperity  to  the  city. 

Mers-el-Kebir  is  the  harbour  of  Oran,  but,  unfortunately,  two 
French  leagues  distant  from  that  city.  Around  the  harbour  the 
steep  cliffs  prevent  the  establishment  of  a  town ;  in  consequence, 
there  was  little  prospect  of  the  increase  of  Oran,  the  communication 
between  the  harbour  and  the  city  being  often  cut  off  by  bad  weather 
for  several  days,  or  even  weeks.  But  the  French  set  actively  to 
work,  and  blasted  a  road  through  the  cliffs,  in  order  to  secure  an 
access  from  the  town  to  the  harbour.  In  several  places  the  ter- 
tiary lime  cliff,  rising  to  eighty  feet,  was  to  be  demolished ;  in 
another  place,  a  tunnel  had  to  be  bored  through  the  rocks;  and 
such  was  the  hardness  of  the  material  that  it  cost  one  year  of  in- 
cessant labour  to  perforate  the  cliff  for  two  hundred  feet.  This 
road,  and  all  the  others  in  the  Regency,  were,  like  the  drainage 
of  the  plain  of  Metija,  and  of  that  of  Bona,  made  by  the  army. 
Altogether,  the  employment  of  soldiers  in  the  construction  of 
works  of  public  utility  is  one  of  the  most  laudable  results  of  the 
occupation  of  Algeria.  In  the  time  of  the  Romans,  such  con- 
structions formed  a  regular  occupation  of  the  armies  in  time  of 
peace;  but  modern  martinet  officers  deem  such  work  degrading, 
and  believe  that  drilling,  idleness,  and  unproductive  labour,  are 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  103 

the  occupations  for  the  soldier.  Even  here  in  Algeria,  it  was  in 
the  beginning  only  as  punishmenfe  that  soldiers  were  employed 
on  works  of  public  utility :  it  was  difficult  to  overcome  the  preju- 
dice, that  work  dishonours  a  soldier ;  but  afterwards  the  whole 
army  was  in  turn  engaged  in  such  labours.  What  might  not  be 
done  in  India,  if  the  same  prejudice  could  be  done  away  with 
the  officers? 

Oran  looks  more  like  a  Spanish,  than  a  Moorish  city;  in- 
deed it  was  held  by  the  Spaniards  for  several  centuries  up  to 
1791,  when  it  was  seriously  damaged  by  an  earthquake,  and 
given  up  to  the  Dey  by  negotiation.  It  lies  on  two  small  pla- 
teaus, divided  by  a  valley  full  of  fine  gardens.  The  streets 
are  broad  and  straight,  the  houses  uniform.  Moorish  architecture 
prevails  only  in  the  mosques,  which  are  uncommonly  handsome; 
the  Spanish  Church,  with  its  heavy  tasteless  towers,  is  very  in- 
ferior to  them.  The  characteristic  feature  of  Oran  is  the  three 
Spanish  forts — one  at  the  foot,  one  half  way  up,  and  one  at  the 
steep  top  of  the  rock  Tamara.  They  are  constructed  of  such 
solid  masonry,  that  even  the  earthquake  did  not  injure  them. 
The  highest  of  these  forts  is  called  Santa- Cruz  ;  but  the  natives, 
to  elevate  the  Crescent  above  the  Cross,  have  built  on  a  still 
higher  and  steeper  mountain-top,  opposite  to  the  fort,  a  Marabut 
chapel,  with  a  white  cupola  surmounted  by  a  shining  crescent. 

After  the  occupation  of  Oran  by  the  French,  the  great  majority 
of  the  Mohammedan  population  immediately  emigrated,  as  was 
the  case  in  Bujia,  in  Bona,  in  Belida,  and  other  places.  Those 
who  went  into  the  interior  returned  after  the  downfal  of  Abd-el- 
Kader;  but  not  a  few  had  gone  to  Tunis,  to  Morocco,  and  even  to 
Turkey.  The  gap  which  they  occasioned  in  the  population  was 
soon  filled  up  by  French,  and  especially  Spanish  colonists. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Oran  is  bare,  and  only  fine  in  the  rainy 
season.  Even  in  March  the  soil  becomes  parched  by  the  burn- 
ing rays  of  the  sun,  as  there  is  no  river,  nor  any  spring  near  the 
city.  As  an  agricultural  establishment,  therefore,  Oran  has  no 
future;  but  Mers-el-Kebir,  the  Portus  Magnus  of  the  ancients,  is 


104  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

next  to  the  roads  of  Arzew,  the  safest  harbour  on  the  Algerine 
coast,  being  unprotected  against  the  south-east  winds  only.  Yet 
what  the  ancients  and  the  Arabs  called  a  great  harbour  (for 
Mers-el-Kebir  has  the  same  meaning  as  Portus  Magnus),  is  not 
large  for  modern  European  ships.  The  port  of  Arzew  is  the  only- 
one  which  can  give  shelter  to  a  more  numerous  fleet. 

The  extensive  salt-lake,  El-Sebgha,  near  Messerghin,  a  village 
in  the  vicinity  of  Oran,  is  ten  miles  wide,  and  about  forty  miles 
long.  In  summer,  it  is  entirely  dry,  and  its  bed  is  covered  with  a 
stratum  of  salt,  which  even  in  winter  glitters  through  the  water 
with  white,  yellow,  and  red  crystals,  the  water  being  only  six 
feet  deep.  Many  wading-birds  live  on  the  banks :  and  I  shot 
amongst  them  the  flamingo  and  the  Numidian  crane.  The  Gar- 
rabas  and  the  Beni-Ammer,  the  two  tribes  who  were  most  enthu- 
siastic supporters  of  Abd-el-Kader,  lived  here  around  Oran  and 
the  Salt- lake.  The  majority  of  the  Beni-Ammer  went  with  their 
chief  to  Morocco,  and  have  not  returned ;  they  could  once  take  the 
field  with  4000  horsemen ;  but  now  their  territory  has  been  con- 
fiscated for  the  French  Government  property. 

From  Oran  I  made  an  excursion  to  Mascara,  which  at  that 
time  was  the  capital  of  Abd-cl-Kader.  Commander  Fellissier, 
the  Directeur  des  Affaires  Arabes,  had  handed  me  two  Arab  let- 
ters, signed  and  sealed  by  Marshal  Valee  for  the  Emir  Abd-el- 
Kader,  and  for  the  governor  of  Mascara,  Haji  Bukhari.  I  was 
strongly  recommended  to  both  as  a  learned  "  Dubib  "  (physician), 
who  had  the  intention  of  travelling  in  the  interior  in  order  to  seek 
medical  plants,  and  to  prepare  drugs.  It  was  necessary  to  make 
such  a  pretext ;  for  distrust  against  foreigners  is  universal  in 
Arab  countries.  The  nomades  suspect  a  spy  in  every  Euro- 
pean: they  think  he  comes  to  draw  maps  and  plans,  and  to 
prepare  the  way  for  military  expeditions.  They,  therefore,  in 
order  to  deter  the  tourist,  always  exaggerate  the  dangers  and 
privations  which  he  may  have  to  encounter.  They  say  that  their 
country  is  very  poor,  that  the  mountains  contain  no  gold,  and 
that  the  stones  and  plants  are  just  the  same  as  those  found  on  the 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  105 

coast  The  Arabs  give  these  accounts,  fearing  lest  the  discovery 
of  a  mine,  or  of 'salt,  or  of  a  medical  spring,  might  allure  the 
French  into  their  country. 

The  means  of  communication  between  Oran  and  Mascara  were, 
in  1838,  very  scanty.  Though  peace  was  maintained  between  the 
Arabs  and  French,  still  their  mutual  hatred  had  been  roused  by 
the  preceding  barbarous  war  to  such  a  pitch,  that  friendly  inter- 
course could  not  be  restored  between  the  two  races,  and  robberies 
and  murders  frequently  occurred. 

The  French  Consul  at  Mascara  was  at  that  time  Mr.  Daumas, 
captain  of  the  mounted  rifles,  or  Chasseurs  d'Afrique,  distin- 
guished both  as  an  officer  and  as  a  diplomatist.*  Though  he 
lived  with  his  physician,  his  two  interpreters,  and  a  few  military 
servants,  in  a  very  retired  and  sober  way  in  the  Arab  city,  yet  the 
scanty  supplies  of  the  market  were  not  sufficient  for  him,  at  least 
this  was  the  report  at  Oran.  Every  third  or  fourth  week,  there- 
fore, a  small  train  of  mules  was  sent  to  him  with  the  necessaries 
of  a  French  table :  wine,  sugar,  and  other  trifles,  to  which  we  are 
accustomed.  The  mules  were  led  by  French  waggoners,  to  whom 
such  an  expedition  was  a  kind  of  favour,  as  on  their  return  they 
loaded  the  animals  with  products  of  Mascara,  especially  with  fowls, 
which  they  sold  at  better  prices  in  Oran.  An  Arab  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Abd-el-Kader  always  accompanied  those  trains,  and  I 
seized  the  opportunity  of  travelling  with  one  of  them  in  the  com- 
pany of  Lieutenant  Daumas  and  Mr.  Varlet,  a  young  army- sur- 
geon. Our  guide,  a  grey  Bedouin  of  the  Garrabas  tribe,  was 
ragged,  and  rode  on  a  mule  as  grey  and  lean  as  himself ;  but,  in 
the. course  of  the  journey,  both  confounded  us  and  our  well-fed 
mules  by  their  agility  and  endurance.  I  tried  to  enter  into  con- 
versation with  the  old  man,  who  sometimes  gazed  at  me  with 
undisguised  hatred  and  contempt,  but  he  cut  me  short  with  laconic 
answers.  After  a  ride  of  three  hours,  we  arrived  in  the  dominion 
of  "  Sultan  Abd-el-Kader,"  entering  the  large  plain  of  Tlelat,  an 

*  Now  he  is  General  Conseiller  d'etat,  and  Directeur  des  Affaires  Arabes. 


106-  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

extensive  but  rather  barren  country,  full  of  morasses  and  thickets.* 
Here  I  saw  that  immense  number  of  slugs  of  which  I  had  heard 
from  the  travellers  to  Mascara.  Every  jujube-bush,  every  mastich- 
shrub,  every  dwarf-palm,  was  covered  by  them  :  they  looked  like 
ornamented  garlands  on  the  foliage,  or  like  moving  strings  of 
pearls.  Some  of  the  shrubs  were  entirely  covered  by  those  crea- 
tures :  and  were  devoid  of  foliage,  for  the  slugs  had  eaten  it 
up.  When  the  French  army  was  returning  from  Mascara  under 
Marshal  Clauzel,  the  provisions  were  very  scanty ;  the  soldiers, 
therefore,  caught  and  cooked  the  snails,  and  Captain  Magagnos 
assured  me  that  they  formed  a  most  excellent  meal.  At  the  time 
of  my  journey,  the  Garrabas  peopled  that  plain:  they  are,  next  to 
the  Hajutes,  the  most  cruel  and  treacherous  tribe  of  the  Regency. 
"  Thej^  are  notorious  murderers,"  said  Abd-el-Kader  to  Consul 
Daumas,  "  but  my  best  warriors."  They  furnished  2000  horse- 
men to  the  Emir,  who  used  to  say,  "  The  Garrabas  are  my  cloak, 
the  Beni-Ammers  my  coat,  the  Hashems  my  shirt."  He  induced 
many  of  them  to  follow  him  to  Morocco. 

We  rode  for  a  few  hours  through  the  lonely  bushes,  until  we 
became  somewhat  uneasy ;  our  excited  imaginations  often  misled 
us  to  take  some  pistaccia-bushes  in  the  distance  for  caniel's-hair 
tents,  or  the  floating  rag  on  some  Marabut  tomb  for  the  Burnus  of 
an  Arab  lurking  in  ambuscade.  But  as  nothing  suspicious  occur- 
red, we  soon  forgot  our  misgivings.  When  dusk  approached,  we 
did  not  like  to  leave  our  Garrabas  guide  out  of  view.  The  sun  was 
setting,  and  the  grey  Bedouin  vaulted  from  his  mule,  which,  ac- 
customed to  such  pauses,  stood  still  patiently,  whilst  his  master 
had  thrown  himself  on  the  ground,  pressing  the  soil  with  his 
forehead,  and  remaining  buried  in  devotion  until  tfhe  last  glim- 
mering ray  had  vanished.  Suddenly  he  started  up  and  became 
aware  that  we  had  been  witnesses  of  his  prayers.  An  angry 
glance  shot  from  his  eyes,  and  he  unwittingly  cried  out  "  Begone!" 
Of  course  we  left  him ;  but,  when  he  joined  us  again,  he  was 

*  Great  works  of  drainage  and  irrigation  have  been  accomplished  here  during 
the  few  last  years  by  the  French. 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  ]  07 

more  friendly  than  before,  and  asked  whether  we  would  not  spend 
the  night  at  an  Arab  encampment,  for,  beyond  that,  there  were  no 
more  human  dwellings  on  our  way.  Of  course  we  consented ; 
though  a  night  with  such  robbers  as  the  Garrabas  are,  did  not 
promise  to  be  pleasant.  We  left  the  beaten  track,  and,  after  half 
an  hour's  ride  through  the  thicket,  we  reached  a  clear  place, 
studded  with  black  tents,  and  with  browsing  herds.  At  the  first 
encampment,  we  were  refused  admittance,  the  females  and  chil- 
dren reviled  us,  and  we  were  driven  away.  At  the  second  en- 
campment, the  Sheikh,  just  as  ugly  and  ragged  as  our  guide, 
after  a  long  parley,  allowed  us  to  alight,  and  to  picket  our  mules. 
A  tent  was  soon  pitched  for  us,  but  so  unwillingly,  that  we  did 
not  think  ourselves  quite  safe.  Yet  after  a  few  hours'  conversa- 
tion around  the  great  fire  which  we  had  made,  we  became  friends 
with  the  Arabs,  who  were  all  most  curious  about  nevfs,  especially 
as  regarded  Milud-Ben-Arash,  Abd-el-Kader's  envoy  in  France, 
who  was  a  son  of  a  Marabut  of  the  Garrabas  tribe.  Song  and 
amusements  went  on  till  midnight,  after  which  we  had  a  quiet  rest 
till  morning.  This  encampment  was  the  largest  I  had  seen  in  Bar- 
bary  :  and  must  have  contained  several  hundred  families.  The 
black  tents  formed  a  regular  circle.  In  the  centre,  an  immense 
herd  of  black  sheep  and  goats,  of  lean  bulls  and  cows,  and  a  few 
camels,  were  bleating  and  bellowing  ;  while  the  white  long-haired 
Bedouin  dogs,  alarmed  by  the  presence  of  strangers,  barked  inces- 
santly. An  out  of  the  way  spot  was  chosen  for  the  encampment, 
as  is  usually  the  case  with  Arabs,  both  in  order  to  escape  impor- 
tunate claims  on  their  hospitality,  and  to  avoid  any  hostile  party. 
Before  the  enemy  could  work  his  way  through  the  bushes,  the 
Bedouins  would  have  time  to  send  away  their  herds  and  tents. 
Such  a  precaution  was  the  more  necessary,  as  the  Garrabas  were 
engaged  in  a  feud  with  the  Beni-Ammer;  and  until  Abd-el-Kader 
was  able  to  return  from  Medeah  and  enforce  peace,  both  tribes 
continued  to  plunder  each  other  most  rapaciously. 

A  small  elevated  plateau,   running  parallel  with  the  coast, 
divides  the  plain  of  Tlelat  from  the  more  extensive  and  fertile 


108  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

plain  of  Ceirat,  which  is  watered  by  the  Sig.  This  plateau 
is  covered  with  mastich-bushes ;  but  I  saw  likewise  many  wild 
olive-trees,  African  tamarisks,  pines,  oaks,  carob  and  jujube  trees. 
This  place  is,  according  to  the  Arabs,  a  resort  of  lions ;  but,  as 
our  guide  told  us,  they  never  attack  a  man  if  he  rails  at  them  as 
thieves,  and  sons  of  thieves,  and  spits  on  them,  and  goes  boldly 
onward ;  but  whoever  shows  them  respect  is  inevitably  lost. 

The  splendid  plain  of  the  Sig  now  lay  before  our  eyes,  expand- 
ing like  a  green  sea.  We  saw  here  many  encampments,  numerous 
herds,  and  not  a  few  Marabut  tombs.  Sometimes  one  sees  only  a 
slab,  surrounded  by  a  low  stone-fence,  and  surmounted  by  a  white 
flag  or  a  rag :  this  indicates  the  resting-place  of  a  common  Marabut. 
Upon  the  grave  of  a  more  renowned  saint,  a  small  chapel  with  a 
cupola  is  raised  ;  whilst  over  those  of  first  order,  and  of  national 
importance,  a  mosque  is  built,  and  watched  over  by  Talebs  (doc- 
tors) and  hermits.  Our  journey  through  the  plain  lasted  rather 
long,  since  our  old  guide  alighted  at  each  of  the  Marabut  tombs, 
and  threw  himself  on  the  ground  for  prayer.  On  the  southern 
end  of  the  plain  runs  the  Sig,  between  steep  banks,  in  a  south- 
eastern direction.  The  river  is  not  considerable,  and  its  water  is 
dark  brown  :  the  Arabs  say  that  every  horseman  who  allows  his 
horse  to  drink  from  it  may  proceed  farther  on  foot.  Five  miles 
beyond  the  Sig,  we  reached  the  first  of  the  three  ranges  of  the 
Atlas,  which  we  had  to  pass  before  Mascara.  The  valleys  be- 
tween them  are  most  fertile,  and  of  luxuriant  vegetation.  The 
mastich-tree  rises  here  to  sixty  feet  in  height,  and  I  found  some 
splendid  specimens  of  orchis. 

Late  at  night  we  arrived  at  Mascara,  without  being  asked  for 
passports,'  or  detained  by  custom-house  officers.  Abd-el-Kader  had 
the  good  sense  not  to  imitate  the  French  in  introducing  those 
blessings  of  civilization  by  which  travellers  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  are  annoyed.  We  halted  in  a  wretched  street,  at  the 
house  of  the  French  consul,  who  received  us  as  brothers.  He 
assured  us  of  his  gratitude  to  any  European  who  visited  him  in 
his  loneliness,  and  afi"orded  him  an  opportunity  of  exchanging 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  109 

thoughts  and  feelings  with  Europeans.  We  were  scarcely  seated 
at  table  when  the  Arab  governor  of  the  city,  Haji-Bukhari,  sent 
us  a  lamb  and  kuskusu,  mixed  with  raisins,  the  report  having 
reached  him  by  our  guide  that  it  was  the  son  of  the  Sultan  of 
France  who  had  arrived  in  the  city. 

Mascara  is  situated  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  third  Atlas 
range,  on  the  north  side  of  the  splendid  plain  of  Egghres,  a  few 
miles  distant  from  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Roman  colony,  Victoria. 
It  is  a  most  wretched  place,  with  small  miserable  stone-houses, 
narrow  filthy  streets,  and  without  any  important  mosque.  The 
only  handsome  building,  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Beys,  and 
afterwards  the  palace  of  Abd-el-Kader,  was  destroyed  by  Marshal 
Clauzel  in  1 835.  The  Emir  did  not  restore  it — nay,  he  gave  a 
formal  command  not  to  remove  the  rubbish.  Nobody  was  allowed 
to  dwell  here :  the  palace  was  suffered  to  remain  in  ruins,  its  floor 
having  been  trodden  by  infidels ;  Abd-el-Kader  himself  took  an 
oath  never  to  visit  the  city  which  had  been  soiled  by  the  con- 
quest of  the  Rummis.  From  that  time  he  remained  in  his  tent 
outside  the  city,  as  often  as  he  came  to  Mascara.  Yet,  even  before 
its  destruction,  the  palace  was  not  to  be  compared  with  the  fine 
Moorish  buildings  in  Algiers,  or  with  the  Bey's  palace  at  Con- 
stantino. Its  garden  was,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  entirely 
neglected — the  fountains  were  dried  up — the  orange-trees  had 
withered — the  outer  wall  was  mouldering.  In  the  large  court- 
yard, I  saw  a  few  ostriches  still  remaining,  but  very  badly  kept : 
the  ruins  are  entirely  in  possession  of  falcons  and  storks.  The 
storks  here,  as  all  over  the  East,  are  hurt  by  nobody.  According 
to  an  Arab  tradition,  they  are  Marabuts  turned  into  birds  for  a 
great  sin,  and  therefore  they  even  now  like  to  dwell  on  the  cupolas 
of  the  mosques,  and  to  sit  upon  the  crescent.  Only  the  stables  in 
the  smaller  court-yard  had  escaped  destruction.  I  saw  here  three 
of  Abd-el-I\ader's  horses,  and  amongst  them  an  old  silver-grey 
stallion,  on  which  the  Emir  had  made  his  first  entry  into  Mas- 
cara, when  the  son  of  the  poor  Marabut  was  proclaimed  Sultan 
by  the  tribe  of  the  Hashems.      The  horse  w^as  now  old  and 


110  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

lame,  but  it  was  carefully  tended  for  its  former  services  to  the 
Emir. 

The  summer  residence  of  the  Bey,  outside  the  town,  is  in  the 
same  desolate  condition  as  the  palace  in  town.  It  was  destroyed 
by  the  Hashems,  when  Sidi-Mahiddin,  the  father  of  Abd-el-Kader, 
expelled  the  Turks  in  1832 ;  yet  the  garden,  full  of  date-palms, 
carob  and  pomegranate-trees,  is  still  the  finest  place  for  taking 
a  walk  in  at  Mascara.  The  city  is  strategically  important  for 
nothing  but  its  central  position  in  the  province.  It  has  no  in- 
dustrial or  commercial  advantages.  But  whoever  occupies  it  with 
from  four  to  five  thousand  light  troops,  commands  the  two  most 
fertile  and  important  plains  of  the  province  of  Oran — that  of 
Egghres  in  the  south,  and  that  of  the  Sig  or  Ceirat  in  the  north ; 
he  is  the  lord  of  the  Hashems,  the  Beni-Ammers,  and  of  the 
Garrabas.  Marshal  Clauzel  must  have  overlooked  this ;  for  had 
he  left  a  garrison  here,  instead  of  sending  it  to  Tlemsan,  Abd-el- 
Kader  never  would  have  regained  his  influence.  When  the  Mar- 
shal had  occupied  the  city,  the  Borjias,  an  important  tribe  of  the 
plain  of  Ceirat,  immediately  sent  envoys  to  the  French,  to 
negotiate  a  treaty  and  oSer  submission.  But  when  the  French 
withdrew,  and  Abd-el-Kader,  reinforced  by  the  Kabyles  of  the 
Tafna,  returned  to  Mascara,  dissensions  arose  in  this  tribe.  Some 
of  the  leaders  proposed  to  follow  the  French  to  the  very  walls  of 
Oran,  where  the  Duairs  and  Zmelas  had  found  protection  when 
seceding  from  the  Emir;  but  others  advised  to  treat  with  Abd-el- 
Kader.  Whilst  they  were  deliberating,  he  had  surrounded  the 
tribe  with  his  army.  The  Sheikh  of  the  Borjias  succeeded  in 
escaping  to  Mostagenem ;  but  the  Emir  punished  the  whole  tribe 
by  breaking  it  up.  He  sent  the  families  singly  to  the  Hashems, 
the  Flitas,  and  other  tribes ;  about  one-fourth  were  forced  to  go 
to  Tekedemt  and  to  Tlemsan,  to  increase  the  population  of  those 
cities.  To  the  Arabs  this  was  an  awful  punishment,  since  every 
tribe  is  for  them  a  kind  of  large  family,  of  which  they  know  the 
traditions,  and  are  proud  of  its  power  and  its  feats.  All  the 
feelings  which  a  noble-minded   European  has  for  his  country 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  1  1 1 

and  nationality  are,  with  the  Arab,  concentrated  in  love  for  his 
tribe;  his  patriotism  does  not  extend  beyond  it,  but  it  is  for  that 
very  reason  the  more  intense.  When,  afterwards,  under  Bugeaud, 
the  French  permanently  occupied  Mascara,  the  majority  of  the 
Beni-Ammers,  and  many  Hashems  and  Garrabas,  unable  to  resist 
the  conquerors  of  the  city,  emigrated  to  Morocco  with  Abd-el- 
Kader,  and  the  Borjias  again  formed  themselves  into  a  tribe. 

The  house  of  Consul  Daumas  was  probably  the  best  building  in 
Mascara.  It  had  three  dark  rooms,  a  small  court-yard,  a  kitchen, 
and  a  terrace.  French  soldiers  had  in  a  few  weeks  repaired  this 
house,  and  it  was  furnished  with  some  comforts  which  even  the 
Arabs  and  Moors  of  Mascara  did  not  fail  to  appreciate.  They 
came  often  to  the  Consul  for  a  chat  and  a  cup  of  coffee.  It  is  an 
attractive,  and,  in  social  intercourse,  an  invaluable  feature  of  a 
Frenchman's  character,  that  he  knows  how  to  pass  easily  and 
with  good  grace  the  stiff  ceremonial  barrier  between  himself  and 
a  stranger,  and  spares  him  the  tedious  time  of  gradual  acquaint- 
ance. He  is  soon  confidential,  but  never  intruding;  he  puts  his 
heart  and  his  mind  into  his  conversation ;  he  does  not  hide  his 
secrets,  and  imparts  his  own  frankness  to  the  stranger.  Such  a 
true  Frenchman,  of  chivalrous  mind  and  winning  manners,  is 
Consul  Daumas.  He  knows  how  by  his  friendliness  to  lead  others 
into  conversation,  and  thus  has  often  succeeded  in  getting  most 
important  information  from  the  reserved  Arab  chiefs,  to  whom  in 
return  he  talked  about  Europe  and  the  miracles  of  her  civiliza- 
tion. I  often  admired  his  uncommon  cleverness  with  the  natives. 
Through  questions  apparently  most  trivial,  he  elicited  from  them 
the  most  valuable  information  about  the  movements  of  Abd-el- 
Kader,  who  was  just  preparing  for  his  expedition  against  Ain- 
Maadi — about  his  powder-mill  at  Tekedemt,  his  cannon-foundery 
at  Tlemsan — about  the  strength  of  his  array,  and  the  disposition  of 
the  tribes  towards  him.  He  knew  how  to  involve  them  in  the  most 
heterogeneous  topics,  and  to  get,  even  from  the  most  taciturn  of 
them,  such  facts  as  were  important  for  him.  I  remember  that 
one  evening  Ben-Araidu,  a  German  renegado,  came  to  visit  me. 


112  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

The  Consul  immediately  had  two  bottles  of  wine  brought,  and 
urged  the  renegado  to  partake  freely  of  the  drink.  Of  course,  he 
became  talkative,  and  I  was  much  amused  by  the  autobiography 
of  that  adventurer.  His  name  had  been  Geistinger ;  he  was  a 
native  of  Bavaria.  Having  served  in  the  Foreign  Legion,  and 
being  made  prisoner  by  the  Arabs  in  1833,  or  perhaps  having 
deserted  to  them,  he  learned  the  Arabic,  became  a  Mohammedan, 
and  got  accustomed  to  Bedouin  life.  He  drilled  a  small  corps  of 
natives  for  Abd-el-Kader  in  the  European  way,  and  fought  gal- 
lantly for  his  new  master.  But  at  last  he  got  tired  of  the  Arabs, 
and  deserted  again  to  the  French,  saying  that  he  had  escaped 
from  an  Arab  prison.  But  General  Desmichels  took  him  for  a  de- 
serter, and,  in  order  to  punish  him,  sent  him  back  to  the  Emir. 
The  returned  renegado  was  now  most  cruelly  treated;  but  the 
Emir  at  last  pitied  him,  and  spared  his  life.  Abd-el-Kader  had, 
at  the  Makta,  captured  a  French  ammunition-cart,  and  wished  to 
send  this  trophy  to  the  Sultan  of  Morocco.  But  he  did  not  know 
how  so  lumbering  a  piece  of  goods  might  be  transported  over  the 
high  mountains  and  impassable  paths.  He,  therefore,  asked 
Geistinger  whether  he  would  undertake  the  transport  of  the  cart. 
The  renegado,  of  course,  did  not  dare  to  refuse  the  commission. 
Though  he  had  no  idea  of  coach-making,  he  took  the  cart  into 
pieces,  had  the  wheels  and  all  the  other  parts  loaded  on  camels, 
and  proceeded  to  Morocco,  having  been  provided  with  ample 
means  by  the  Emir,  who  told  him  to  remain  there  if  he  chose ; 
but  if  the  renegado  loved  him,  he  expected  him  to  return.  After 
a  march  of  thirty  days,  Geistinger  arrived  at  Fez,  put  the  cart 
together,  presented  it  to  the  Sultan,  Abder-Rahman,  and  opened  a 
coffee-house  with  the  money  he  had  got  from  the  Emir.  But  as 
he  was  no  man  of  business,  he  soon  failed,  and  returned  to  Abd- 
el-Kader.  The  Emir  again  took  him  into  his  service  as  inspector 
of  his  powder-mill.  Geistinger  had  become  entirely  African.  I 
never  should  have  recognised  a  countryman  of  mine  in  the  sun- 
burnt Bedouin,  clad  in  the  Arab  garb.  When  I  spoke  in  German 
to  him,  he  seemed  to  get  into  a  fit  of  home-sickness.     "  Fare- 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  113 

well,"  he  cried  out,  "  you  are  happy  that  you  can  return  to  our 
country.     I  am  doomed  to  live  and  die  amongst  savages.'' 

Consul  Daumas  had  by  the  conversation  elicited  several  state- 
ments from  the  renegado  about  the  state  of  affairs — the  failure  of 
Abd-el-Kader's  cannon-foundry,  which  had  cost  much  money — 
the  bad  feelings  of  the  Angads  towards  the  Emir,  and  other  local 
matters.  The  German  had  taken  many  glasses  of  wine  with  our 
host,  and  seemed  at  last  to  have  forgotten  all  reserve.  I  was 
surprised  that  Dr.  Varnier,  the  friend  and  inseparable  companion 
of  the  Consul,  did  not  make  his  appearance  during  our  conversa- 
tion^ But  scarcely  had  the  renegado  gone  away,  when  a  curtain 
was  raised  close  to  the  chimney,  and  I  saw  the  bearded  jolly  face 
of  the  Doctor,  laughing  at  my  astonishment.  He  had  posted 
himself  there  with  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  carefully  written 
down  the  conversation ;  he  had  become  a  thorough  stenographer, 
and  reported  every  word  of  the  natives.  His  writings  were  the 
staple  of  the  most  valuable  despatches  of  the  Consul. 

Nearly  every  evening  we  had  a  visit  from  some  Sheikh  or 
Marabut,  who  liked  to  drink  coffee  with  the  Consul.  I  made  here 
the  acquaintance  of  Haji-Bukhari,  the  governor  of  Mascara;  of 
Haji-Mustapha,  the  vicegerent  (Khalifa)  of  the  Emir ;  of  Sheikh 
Mohammed-Bussid,  the  chief  of  the  Hashems,  and  several  Mara- 
buts  of  the  ill-fated  tribe  of  the  Borjias.  They  often  spoke  of 
their  Sultan  and  his  early  life,  and  told  us  the  traditions  and  tales 
of  the  tribes.  Sometimes  they  entered  into  a  disputation  about 
Christianity  and  Islamism,  and  they  seemed  to  like  my  defending 
my  faith  with  warmth,  since  with  the  Arabs  the  religious  indiffer- 
ence of  the  French  is  an  inexplicable  riddle,  and  is  productive  of 
much  astonishment  and  disgust. 

The  afternoon  I  usually  spent  with  Dr.  Varnier,  who  received 
at  that  time  of  the  day  the  visits  of  the  Arab  patients.  They  had 
great  confidence  in  the  "  Dubi-el-Rummi"  (the  Christian  physi- 
cian.) I  became  here  convinced  that  even  the  most  simple  and 
natural  mode  of  life,  open  air  and  exercise,  do  not  prevent  human 
sufferings  of  the  most  awful  description.     The  traveller  who  rides 


114  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

through  the  countiy  of  the  Bedouins,  and  does  not  see  any  other 
specimens  of  the  nomades  than  the  healthy  men  visiting  the  mar- 
kets, prates  easily  about  the  primitive  health  of  the  race,  uncon- 
taminated  by  civilization;  and  his  speculations  readily  get  credit  in 
our  overcrowded  cities.     But  in  the  court-yard  of  the  Consulate  at 
Mascara,  I  saw  that  the  tent  hides  as  hideous  diseases  as  the  hovel 
of  the  agriculturist  pauper,  or  the  garret  of  the  manufacturing 
labourer.     Ophthalmia  and  cutaneous  diseases,  leprosy  and  her- 
petic eruptions,  I  noticed  in  fearful  development.     Moreover,  I 
saw  many  imaginary  sufferers  among  the  patients  of  Dr.  Var- 
nier,  such  as  I  should  have  expected  to  find  only  among  the  effete, 
idle  classes  of  great  cities,  who  fancied  themselves  to  be  ill,  only 
in  order  to  visit  the  Doctor,  and  to  swallow  his  prescription.    The 
case  of  one  individual  amused  me  very  much.     He  was  a  gigantic 
Arab,  who  assured  us  that  he  had  a  live  tortoise  in  his  belly,  and 
felt  it  pinch  and  squeeze  him.    The  physician  gave  him  an  entirely 
harmless  drug,  and  the  Bedouin  was  soon  satisfied  that  it  had  de- 
stroyed the  beast.    As  to  gratitude,  they  did  not  seem  to  feel  any 
towards  the  infidel  Doctor ;  they  looked  upon  him  as  an  instrument 
of  God,  and  reserved  their  thanks  for  God  alone.     Still  the  Doctor 
was  never  molested  on  his  occasional  rambles  through  the  country, 
though  he  was  not  allowed  to  extend  them  farther  than  to  a  radius 
of  ten  miles ;  but  this  he  deemed  an  ample  reward  for  his  exer- 
tions, as  it  furnished  him  with  many  opportunities  of  acquiring 
information. 

Haji  Bukhari,  the  Hakem,  or  Governor  of  the  city  of  Mascara, 
was  the  friend  and  companion  of  Abd-el-Kader  from  early  youth. 
He  lived  in  a  small  house,  in  a  lonely  street,  but  he  was  during 
the  whole  day  in  the  hall  of  justice,  close  to  the  market.  Here 
he  sat  on  a  mat  of  bulrushes,  several  Kh6jas  or  clerks  sitting 
around  him,  and  six  chaush  or  beadles,  with  long  sticks,  being 
posted  at  the  door,  awaiting  the  orders  of  their  master.  Their 
principal  calling  was  to  bestow  the  bastinado  on  the  culprits,  and 
they  did  it  with  good  grace.  Scarcely  any  market-day  passed 
without  five  thousand  lashes  being  awarded.     And  the  man  who 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  115 

ordered  them  to  be  applied,  had  the  most  tender,  pious,  and  de- 
vout expression  of  countenance  I  ever  saw.  He  much  resembles  the 
Emir  himself;  but  Abd-el-Kader's  features  are  still  more  refined 
and  spiritual,  whilst  the  H^kem  is  more  muscular.  Hlji-Buk- 
hari  has  often  given  proofs  of  his  faith  and  attachment  to  his 
friend  and  master.  When  Abd-el-Kader  fell  wounded  from  his 
horse  in  the  battle  against  Mustapha-Ben-Ismael,  it  was  Bukhari 
who  covered  him  with  his  body  and  carried  him  off;  he  followed 
him  likewise  against  Mussa-el-Sherif,  and  was  one  of  the  few 
chiefs  Avho  never  wavered  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Emir, 
even  when  Marshal  Clauzel  was  at  Mascara.  In  conversation, 
the  Hakem  is  kind  and  friendly  with  Christians  and  with  Arabs, 
who,  in  spite  of  the  often  awarded  bastinado,  love  him  for  his 
prompt  administration  of  justice. 

Haji-Bukhari  received  us  in  the  most  courteous  manner ;  but 
when  I  requested  permission  to  visit  the  thermal  springs  of 
Hammam-Sidi-Ben-Hanefiah,  he  gave  an  evasive  answer,  and 
offered  to  have  the  water  brought  to  Mascara  for  our  examination. 
The  principal  motive  of  his  reluctance  was  perhaps  less  his  own 
distrust  of  Christians,  than  an  apprehension  lest  the  tribes  in 
the  interior  might  become  dissatisfied  with  him,  and  charge  him 
as  conniving  with  spying  Rummis,  and  allowing  them  to  soil  the 
Marabut  graves  by  their  presence.  Abd-el-Kader's  power  rested 
so  entirely  on  the  religious  fanaticism  of  his  people,  that  every 
kindness  shown  to  a  Christian  was  liable  to  become  dangerous,  as 
some  Marabut  might  make  use  of  it  as  the  theme  for  a  fanatical 
speech. 

As  a  beginning,  we  had  to  be  satisfied  with  extending  our  ex- 
cursions to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  city.  From  the  moun- 
tain Shruab-el-Rehah,  I  had  a  good  view  of  the  three  Atlas  ranges 
to  the  north,  and  of  the  whole  country  up  to  the  sea,  as  well  as  of 
the  more  monotonous  plain  of  Egghres  in  the  south,  to  which  the 
Atlas  slopes  down  by  a  series  of  small  valleys.  In  one  of  those 
dales  is  the  hermitage  of  SIdl-MahiddIn,  the  birth-place  of  Abd- 
el-Kader,  the  residence  of  the  chief  of  the  Marabut  family,  Ma- 


116  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

hiddln.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  this  chief  was  the  uncle  of  Abd- 
el-Kader,  the  only  one  surviving  brother  of  old  Mahiddin.  As 
already  mentioned,  young  men  are  educated  in  these  hermitages 
(Ghetnas)  to  become  Marabuts.  They  are,  in  fact,  Arab  colleges, 
wh^re  only  young  men  of  good  families  or  of  uncommon  talents 
are  admitted  as  students,  and  trained  to  become  Arab  saints.  The 
hermitage  of  Sidi- Mahiddin,  was  for  many  years  the  most  cele- 
brated of  those  educational  institutions  in  the  province  of  Oran, 
and  consisted  of  four  buildings,  one  storey  high.  One  of  them  is 
the  residence  of  the  chief,  containing  likewise  his  library  and  par- 
lour ;  in  the  second,  he  kept  his  three  wives ;  the  third,  which  is 
separated  from  the  house  of  the  Marabut  by  a  garden,  gave  ac- 
commodation for  twelve  students;  the  fourth  was  the  chapel.  All 
the  valley  resembles  a  garden;  vines  creep  along  the  walls  of  the 
buildings ;  a  palm-tree  stands  before  the  chapel,  and  the  garden  is 
full  of  vegetables,  melons,  fruit-trees,  and  flowers,  which  are  attended 
to  by  the  saint  himself.  Many  guests  arrived  daily  at  the  hermi- 
tage for  prayer,  or  for  consultation  with  the  Marabut.  They  never 
came  with  empty  hands:  one  brought  an  animal  from  his  herd; 
the  other,  a  bag  of  wheat ;  the  third,  cash.  Sidi-Mahiddin,  an  old 
man,  sat  before  the  door,  and  greeted  the  new-comers,  accepting 
their  presents,  and  treating  them  with  kuskusu  and  pure  water, 
whilst  the  guests  sat  around  him  for  hours  in  friendly  conver- 
sation. Almost  every  one  had  some  peculiar  request.  One 
wished  to  have  his  neighbour  reconciled  to  him,  with  whom  he 
lived  in  enmity;  another  was  not  blessed  with  children,  and  re- 
quested the  saintly  man  to  join  in  prayers  with  him  to  God  for 
them.  Another,  again,  was  unwell,  or  had  a  member  of  his 
family  in  ill  health,  and  the  Marabut  was  to  help  them  all.  Poli- 
tical affairs  were  likewise  discussed  here,  news  exchanged,  and 
diplomatic  counsels  held.  Whoever  brought  tidings  from  Oran, 
true  or  false,  and  every  Haji,'^  coming  from  Mecca,  or  with  news 
from  the  Sultan  in  Constantinople,  was  always  a  welcome  guest 
at  the  hermitage.  The  most  influential  Kaids,  Sheikhs,  and 
Marabuts,  appeared  here  regularly,  nearly  every  month,  and  the 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  117 

most  serious  questions  were  decided.  It  was  here  that  the 
murder  of  the  Turks  in  Mascara  was  plotted,  and  that  Mahiddin 
preached  the  holy  war  against  the  French.  As  often  as  Abd-el- 
Kader  visited  the  vicinity  of  Mascara,  he  came  daily  to  the  old 
family  residence,  to  visit  and  to  consult  his  aged  uncle. 

At  the  south  end  of  the  plain  of  Egghres,  lies  Kashruh,  the 
family  cemetery  of  the  Mahiddin  family.  It  is  one  of  the  finest 
spots  of  the  province:  a  ravine  of  the  Atlas,  bounded  on  both  sides 
by  wild,  sharp-edged  granite  walls,  and  studded  with  the  most 
beautiful  trees :  palms,  pomegranates,  carobs,  oaks,  wild  olives, 
and  mastich,  all  united  by  climbing  plants  in  the  most  pictur- 
esque shapes — here  like  a  canopy,  and  there  like  a  throne.  Seven 
small  mosques  are  built  in.  one  range,  separated  by  fences  of 
cactus,  only  the  mosque  of  Abd-el-Kader's  father  being  sur- 
rounded by  a  double  row  of  masonry.  Mustapha-Ulid- Mahiddin, 
the  elder  brother  of  Abd-el-Kader,  has  built  here  a  frail  hermi- 
tage of  branches,  and  lives  in  an  ascetic  way,  in  dreamy  contem- 
plation. He  had  become  the  Kaid  of  the  mighty  tribe  of  the 
Flitas,  on  the  banks  of  the  Shelif,  and  had  revolted  against  his 
brother.  The  Emir  conciliated  the  tribe,  and  the  young  man  re- 
tired to  the  cemetery  of  his  fathers,  and  lived  here  secluded, 
avoiding  the  contact  of  men.  Religious  enthusiasm  and  dreamy 
contemplation  seem  to  be  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
Mahiddin  family.  But  with  Abd-el-Kader,  it  has  been  modi- 
fied by  political  sagacity,  love  of  conquest,  and  unbounded  am- 
bition. 

After  an  interval  of  a  week,  I  tried  again  to  get  permission  for 
an  excursion  to  the  thermal  springs.  The  Governor  of  Mascara 
sat  in  the  hall  of  justice  among  his  clerks  and  beadles:  he  seemed 
to  be  in  bad  temper,  and  did  not  invite  me  to  sit  down ;  but  I  took 
my  place  opposite  to  him  on  his  mat,  and  we  had  the  following 
conversation : — 

*'  You  have,"  said  I,  "  promised  me  an  escort  and  a  guide 
whenever  I  might  intend  to  visit  some  more  distant  points.  I 
come  now  to  ask  a  guide  to  Hammam-Sidi-Hanefiah." 


118  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

'•'  What  are  you  to  do  at  the  springs?"  asked  Bukhari,  without 
deigning  to  look  at  me. 

"  I  wish  to  get  water  of  the  spring;  its  virtue  has  been  praised 
to  me.  We  have  several  sick  people  in  Oran,  for  whom  it  might 
be  health-restoring." 

'*  I  will  spare  you  the  long  journey,  which  leads  over  stones 
and  precipices.  You  could  not  return  to  day.  My  beadles  will 
fetch  as  much  of  the  water  as  you  may  require." 

"  It  would  not  be  of  any  avail  to  me;  I  must  try  its  virtue  while 
it  is  still  hot,  and  at  the  spring  itself." 

"  You  cannot  be  allowed  to  approach  the  spring.  A  Marabut 
lies  buried  there,  who  did  not  like  the  Rummis.  He  would  send  a 
disease  on  you,  and  your  patients  might  drink  death  instead  of 
health." 

*'  I  respect  the  Marabuts.  I  know  they  are  pious  men,  who 
deserve  your  love  by  their  wisdom,  their  exemplary  life,  and  their 
conciliating  spirit.  The  Christians,  returning  from  captivity, 
mention  them  with  gratitude,  as  they  always  found  in  them  de- 
fenders against  the  outrages  of  your  warriors.  I  cannot  believe 
that  a  saint,  for  whose  remains  I  have  profound  reverence,  could 
harm  me." 

"  The  Marabut  might  spare  you,"  said  the  chief,  after  some 
minutes,  "  but  your  companions  would  surely  fall  under  his 
curse." 

"  Yet  they  are  ready  to  try  their  good-luck ;  if  they  fare  ill, 
you  have  no  responsibility." 

"  But  the  Consul  is  my  friend,  and  I  cannot  allow  that  he 
should  go  anywhere  where  he  might  be  endangered." 

Seeing  that  distrust  was  the  principal  reason  of  all  the  diflS.- 
culties,  I  shifted  the  ground.  "  You  know,"  said  I,  "  that  I  am 
not  a  Frenchman,  but  a  German.  I  do  not  care  for  your  aflfairs  : 
my  people  has  never  warred  with  yours,  and  the  Sultan  of  the 
Germans  is  a  good  friend  to  the  Padishah  in  Constantinople." 

Hiji  Bukhari  interrupted  me,  saying,  "  It  is  quite  the  same 
whether  you  are  German  or  French  :  we  have  made  peace  with 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  1  ]  9 

the  French,  and  we  do  not  deny  to  them  what  we  would  grant  to 
another  Rummi." 

After  some  more  discussion,  Bukhari  consented  to  have  me 
conducted  half-way  to  the  springs,  from  whence  any  Arab  might 
fetch  the  water.  Having  gained  this  point,  the  Consul,  his 
brother,  Dr.  Varnier,  our  dragoman  and  I,  set  out  immediately. 
Our  guide  was  a  young  man,  and  we  hoped  he  might  not  be  in- 
accessible to  a  bribe.  Our  horses  carried  us  rapidly  across  the 
plain  of  Egghres,  which  is  about  sixty  miles  long,  and  twelve 
wide.  It  is  the  territory  of  the  Hashems,  who  have  tilled  about 
one-half  of  it,  as  it  is  uncommonly  well  suited  for  wheat.  No 
swamps  here  pollute  the  air ;  it  is  healthy  throughout,  but  not 
so  well  watered  as  the  plain  of  the  Sig  to  the  north.  The 
Hashems,  therefore,  go  with  their  flocks  in  spring  regularly  to 
the  north,  and  return  only  at  harvest  to  that  excellent  wheat 
land. 

We  had  soon  reached  the  spot  whither  the  governor  had 
ordered  our  guide  to  conduct  us  :  but  he  refused  to  lead  us 
further  onward.  I  was  prepared  for  that,  and  gave  him  two 
Spanish  dollars,  with  the  promise  of  a  like  sum  when  we  re- 
turned from  the  spring.  He  weighed  the  money  in  his  hand, 
requested  me  to  repeat  the  promise,  and  said  then  resolutely, 
"  Ten  boojoos!  I  don't  care  if  now  the  Governor  bastinades  me." 
After  a  ride  of  two  hours  along  mountain  paths,  we  reached 
a  broad  valley,  surrounded  by  high  and  well- timbered  mountains, 
and  studded  with  Arab  tombstones.  Soon  we  saw  the  white 
Marabut  sepulchre,  and  the  Talebs  rushing  out  of  the  hermitage, 
and  reproaching  the  guide  for  having  led  Christians  to  the  holy 
spot :  they  declared  they  would  not  permit  us  to  go  to  the  spring. 
I  promised  money  to  their  chief,  but  he  rejected  the  offer  indig- 
nantly. It  would  have  been  very  disagreeable  to  fail  so  near  the 
goal.  I  therefore  drew  several  dollars  out  of  my  pocket,  and 
showed  them  to  him  :  he  refused  them  a  second  time,  but  his 
glance  was  riveted  to  the  silver ;  and  when  I  was  about  to  pocket 
them  again,  the  saintly  man  snatched  them  from  my  hand  and  led 


120  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

me  towards  the  mosque,  on  condition  that  my  companions  did 
not  follow.  The  thermal  spring  here  runs  from  the  rock  into  a 
basin  about  five  feet  in  circumference,  which  formerly  must  have 
been  much  larger,  as  it  is  filled  with  a  lime- sediment,  which 
sooner  or  later  will  obstruct  the  spring.  But  the  deposits  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  are  far  from  being  so  considerable  as  at  Haramam- 
Meskhutin.  The  water  is  likewise  much  scantier  than  at  those 
splendid  springs :  the  temperature  of  this  was  65°  Reaumur.  I  had 
scarcely  time  to  fill  my  jugs  and  bottles,  when  the  Taleb  judged  I 
had  seen  enough  for  my  two  dollars;  but  how  surprised  and  angry 
was  he,  when,  turning  round,  he  found  that  all  my  companions 
had  followed  us  silently,  and  were  here  on  the  forbidden  ground. 
He  requested  us  to  hasten  away.  We  asked  him  some  questions 
about  the  neighbourhood,  and  he  told  us  that  there  were  other  five 
similar  springs  in  the  valley,  but  not  so  hot  as  these  of  Hammam- 
Hanefiah.  In  another  valley,  he  said,  there  were  old  ruins,  great 
temples,  rows  of  columns,  and  many  inscriptions  ;  probably  the 
ruins  of  Victoria,  a  colony  mentioned  by  Ptolemy.  From  fre- 
quent experience,  we  know  how  little  such  Arab  descriptions  can 
be  trusted  ;  these  people  like  to  exaggerate  the  marvels  of  anti- 
quity. After  having  admired  the  splendid  scenery  of  the  valley, 
which  had  been  selected  for  a  cemetery  by  the  Arab  tribes  around, 
we  retraced  our  steps  to  Mascara. 

On  my  return  from  Oran  to  Algiers,  I  visited  several  points  of 
the  coast.  New  Arzew  lies  twelve  French  leagues  east  of  Oran. 
It  is  a  new  establishment,  consisting  of  two  forts,  several  barracks, 
and  large  storehouses,  and  owes  its  existence  to  the  fact,  that  the 
roads  of  Arzew  afibrd  the  best  protection  for  ships  on  the  whole 
coast  of  Barbary.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  settlement,  there  was  no 
trace  of  agriculture  to  be  seen  :  the  country  is  too  dry,  and  the 
supply  of  wholesome  water  very  scanty,  the  brooks  and  rivulets 
in  the  east  and  south  of  the  town  being  unwholesome.  No  trees 
enliven  the  scenery  around,  but  the  bushes  are  very  thick,  scarcely 
leaving  any  pasture-ground  for  the  excellent  breed  of  horses  for 
which  that  portion  of  the  province  is  renowned.    AVild  beasts  and 


EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST.  121 

game  are  found  in  abundance ;  lions  come  nowhere  so  near  within 
the  reach  of  European  settlements  as  here.  New  Arzew  was 
founded  in  order  that  it  might  replace  Old  Arzew  on  a  more  con- 
venient spot,  that  city,  the  Arsenaria  of  the  Romans,  having  been 
destroyed  in  1834.  The  old  town  was  small,  and  inhabited  only 
by  about  400  Shellukhs  (Kabyles  from  Morocco).  They  were  a 
peaceful  and  kind  people,  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  an 
intelligent  Kadi,  of  the  name  of  Bethuna,  who,  immediately  after 
the  capture  of  Oran,  opened  a  friendly  commercial  intercourse  with 
the  French,  and  by  that  proceeding  incensed  Abd-el-Kader  so 
much,  that,  as  he  still  continued  to  trade  with  the  French  even  after 
a  solemn  warning  from  Mascara,  the  Emir  had  him  seized,  carried 
to  Mascara,  and  strangled.  Abd-el-Kader,  though  on  the  whole 
more  lenient  and  humane  than  other  Arab  and  Kabyle  chiefs,  did 
not  entirely  resemble  the  sentimental  picture  drawn  of  him  by 
Lord  Maidstone  and  other  sympathisers.  General  Desmichels 
hereupon  gave  orders  to  occupy  Arzew;  but  the  Emir  anticipated 
him,  destroyed  the  houses,  carried  the  population  off  to  the  inte- 
rior, and  distributed  them  among  the  tribes  in  the  plain  of  Ceirat. 
Only  very  few  succeeded  in  fleeing  to  Mostaganem  and  Oran. 
Old  Arzew  now  presents  to  view  nothing  but  a  heap  of  ruins, 
entirely  unfit  for  human  habitation. 

Considerable  quantities  of  rock-salt  are  to  be  found  fifteen  miles 
south-east  of  New  Arzew ;  but  the  mines  are  scarcely  worked, 
except  for  the  daily  supply  of  the  Flitas,  the  other  tribes  finding 
it  easier  to  supply  themselves  from  the  salt  lake  of  Messerghin, 
which,  drying  up  each  summer,  leaves  a  thick  crust  of  salt  in  its 
bed.  Though  it  is  less  pure,  it  can  be  more  easily  gathered 
than  the  rock-salt. 

About  twenty  miles  east  of  Arzew,  the  river  Makta,  famous 
on  account  of  General  Trezel's  defeat,  empties  itself  into  the  sea. 
It  comes  from  the  plain  of  Ceirat,  and  is  formed  by  the  juncture 
of  the  Sig  and  of  the  Habra.  In  spring  it  is  rapid,  but  is  not 
navigable  at  any  season  of  the  year. 

About  thirty  miles  farther  east  is  Massafran,  celebrated  for  its 


122  EXCURSION  FROM  ALGIERS  TO  THE  WEST. 

heroic  defence  against  Abd-el-Kader,  and  Mostaganera,  a  rising 
sea-coast  city,  on  a  plateau  of  lime-cliffs.  In  the  principal  moaque 
I  saw  an  Arabic  inscription,  giving  in  a  few  words  the  origin  of 
the  city  in  the  time  of  Sultan  Yussuf.  According  to  it,  "  some 
shepherds  drove  their  herds  into  this  neighbourhood ;  and  the 
sheep,  attracted  by  the  luxuriant  pasture- grounds,  would  not 
be  driven  farther.  The  shepherds,  therefore,  settled  here,  being 
themselves  surprised  by  the  beauty  of  the  country :  God  gave 
his  blessing,  and  Mostaganem  arose."  The  community  has  suf- 
fered much  by  the  late  wars,  and  many  trees  have  been  felled 
in  the  orchards.  But  the  climate  is  still  more  genial  than  that 
of  Algiers  ;  cotton  thrives,  and  the  henna,  which  furnishes  the 
red  dye,  prospers  in  the  gardens,  though  it  cannot  be  cultivated 
in  Algiers.  Twenty  miles  east  of  Mostaganem  we  saw  the 
Shelif,  the  most  important  river  of  the  Regency.  It  comes  from 
the  desert,  winds  its  way  to  the  north-east,  where,  between 
Miliana  and  Medeah,  it  breaks  through  the  valleys  of  the  Atlas, 
and  takes  a  north-westerly  course  to  the  sea.  Yet  even  this  river 
has  in  summer  not  sufficient  water  for  inland  navigation,  and  can 
scarcely  become  of  any  importance  for  trade.  Nature  has  not 
blessed  the  northern  coast  of  Algeria  with  natural  communica- 
tions to  the  interior. 


THE  NATIVE  RACES  OF  THE  REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.     123 


PART  II. 

THE  NATIVE  RACES  OF  THE  REGENCY  OP  ALGIERS. 

The  native  inhabitants  of  Barbary,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  north- 
western coast  of  Africa,  belong  to  seven  different  nationaHties, 
each  of  them  of  peculiar  descent,  and  having  customs  and  man- 
ners of  their  own.  They  are  separated  by  features,  language,  arid 
costume,  and  rarely  intermix  with  one  another;  six  of  them  belong 
to  the  Mohammedan  faith,  the  seventh  is  of  Israelite  origin. 

1.  The  Arabs  form  the  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Regency  of  Algeria ;  they  are  the  ruling  race  in  the  interior,  and 
likewise  in  Morocco,  whilst  in  Tripolis  they  push  the  Turks  con- 
stantly back  to  the  coast. 

2.  Next  to  the  Arabs,  the  Kabyles,  or  Amazighs,  as  they  are 
called  in  Morocco,  and  Tibboos  and  Tuariks  in  the  Desert,  are 
the  most  numerous  race;  they  inhabit  the  country  from  an  earlier 
period  than  their  neighbours,  and  dwell  principally  on  the  moun- 
tain-slopes of  the  Atlas. 

3.  The  Moors  belong,  with  the  Kabyles,  to  the  earlier  inhabi- 
tants of  north-western  Africa;  they  live  exclusively  in  the  cities, 
and  have  the  mildest  manners  of  all  the  Mohammedan  population. 

4.  The  Turks,  and  their  descendants  the  Kuruglis,  have  dwin- 
dled down  to  an  insignificant  number  since  their  power  was  broken 
in  1830;  they  dwell  in  the  seaports  and  in  Constantino. 

5.  The  Jews,  the  most  oppressed  race  in  Africa,  are  diffused 
throughout  all  the  cities  of  the  country. 

6.  The  Negroes  came  nearly  all  from  Western  Sudan,  and  a 
few  from  Guinea ;  some  of  them  are  freemen,  the  majority  are 
enslaved. 


124  THE  ARABS. 

7.  The  Mozabites,  or  Beni-Mozab,  form  the  seventh  nationality; 
they  have  their  own  tongue,  and  inhabit  three  Oases  in  the  Sahara. 
Many  of  them  live  in  Algiers  and  Medeah  as  mechanics.  Colo- 
nists from  nearly  all  the  continental  nations  of  Europe  have  been 
added  to  these  seven  native  races,  and  have  introduced  an  unde- 
sirable variety  of  tongues,  features,  and  costumes,  especially  into 
the  seaports.  We  begin  the  description  of  the  native  population, 
with  the  most  numerous  and  most  important  race,  the  Arabs. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ARABS. 

A  GREAT  peninsula  is  situated  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Gulf 
of  Persia,  larger  in  extent  than  France,  Germany,  and  the  Aus- 
trian Empire  put  together.  It  belongs  geographically  to  Asia, 
but  its  features  are  altogether  African.  The  greatest  part  of  it  is 
described  by  its  designation  as  "  the  stony,"  and  "  the  desert." 
Whilst  the  wilderness  of  middle  Asia,  and  the  steppes  of  Tartary 
are,  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  year,  covered  with  luxuriant 
grass,  the  sand  plains  of  the  peninsula  are  interrupted  only  by 
steep  and  barren  rocks,  and  the  arid  ground,  without  shadow  and 
shelter,  is  parched  by  the  rays  of  a  tropical  sun.  This  country  is 
Arabia,  the  home  of  that  mysterious  shepherd  people,  which,  seized 
by  the  fanaticism  of  a  new  creed,  twelve  hundred  years  back, 
exchanged  its  roving  life  for  the  conquest  of  a  world.  Arabia  is 
a  poor  country,  which  could  not  excite  by  her  riches  the  rapacity  of 
conquerors,  though  there  are  old  traditions  of  treasures  which  once 
covered  the  sand -desert.  Agatharchides  related  that  gold  nuggets 
of  the  size  of  olives  and  nuts  were  found  on  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
in  quantities  surpassing  the  marvels  of  California  and  Australia, 
since,  according  to  him,  iron  became  twice,  and  silver  ten  times, 
more  costty  than  gold.  But  those  real  or  imaginary  riches  of 
Arabia  belong  to  a  period  unknown  to  us.     Her  present  products 


THE  ARABS.  125 

cannot  easily  be  exported,  from  the  want  of  navigable  streams ;  the 
country  is  sparely  irrigated  by  a  few  torrents  which  pour  down  from 
the  mountains  and  are  soon  absorbed  by  the  thirsty  soil;  the  winds, 
especially  those  of  the  south-west,  carry  a  noxious,  and  even  a  pes- 
tilential vapour,  instead  of  cool  air,  over  the  country.  The  sand- 
mountains,  heaped  up  and  levelled  alternately  by  those  winds,  have 
been  compared  to  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  and  caravans,  even 
armies,  are  said  to  have  perished,  and  been  buried  in  the  sand 
by  the  whirling  storm.  The  trees  of  Arabia,  which  are  but  few, 
being  chiefly  the  tamarind  and  acacia,  which  grow  even  in  the 
most  arid  ground,  receive  all  their  nourishment  by  the  dew  of  the 
night.  A  scanty  provision  of  rain-water  is  gathered  in  cisterns  and 
aqueducts ;  the  wells  and  springs  are  the  hidden  treasures  of  the 
Desert,  and  the  pilgrim  of  Mecca  is  often  disgusted,  after  long  and 
thirsty  marches,  by  the  bitter  taste  of  the  water,  saturated  with 
nitre  or  sulphur.  Such  is  the  general  character  of  the  country 
and  climate  in  Arabia.  Yet  she  is  not  devoid  of  oases,  such  as 
diminish  the  terrors  of  the  desert,  even  in  the  Sahara.  It  is 
especially  the  elevated  parts  of  Arabia,  bordering  the  Indian 
Ocean,  which  are  less  destitute  of  wood  and  water.  The  air  is 
more  temperate  there,  the  date  and  the  grape  prosper,  and  coffee 
and  frankincense  have  attracted  the  merchants  of  the  world  since 
the  earliest  ages.  Compared  with  the  other  parts  of  the  penin- 
sula, this  country  may  really  deserve  the  appellation  of  "  The 
Happy,"  and  the  Arab  poets  have  in  all  times  celebrated  it  by 
songs  full  of  love  and  longing.  The  population  Is  here  denser, 
and  were  not  the  love  of  one's  birth-place  mightier  even  than  the 
yearning  for  the  green  country  of  the  palms  and  crystal  springs, 
all  the  tribes  would  proceed  thither,  and  leave  the  Desert  to  the 
lion. 

The  authors  of  all  ages  have  given  descriptions  of  the  life, 
manners,  and  customs  of  the  memorable  tribes  of  Arabia.  It  was, 
especially,  the  never- broken  independence  of  the  Arabs  which 
became  a  subject  of  praise  for  natives  and  foreigners.  Yet  this 
praise  must  be  taken  with  some  allowance.     Several  provinces 


126  THE  ARABS. 

have  been  subdued  in  turn  by  the  Persians,  the  Egyptian  Sultans, 
and  the  Turks.  But,  on  the  whole,  those  exceptions  are  transient 
and  restricted ;  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation  has  escaped  the  yoke 
of  the  mightiest  monarchies.  The  armies  of  Ramesses  and  Cyrus, 
of  Pompey  and  Trajan,  could  not  complete  the  conquest  of  Arabia. 
Her  present  nominal  lord,  the»  Sultan,  or  his  Egyptian  Pasha,  has 
but  a  shadow  of  sovereignty;  in  spite  of  his  pride,  he  is  compelled 
to  sue  for  the  friendship  of  a  people  too  dangerous  to  be  irritated, 
since  it  is  wantonness  to  attack  them. 

Next  to  the  natural  features  of  the  country ,^  it  was  the  character 
and  the  manner  of  life  of  the  Arabs  on  which  their  ancestral 
freedom  was  founded.  Their  neighbours  had  felt  their  undaunted 
gallantry,  both  in  aggressive  and  defensive  warfare,  many  cen- 
turies before  Mahomet.  The  passive  as  well  as  the  active  qualities 
of  the  wamor  are  developed  in  Arabia  by  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  shepherd  life.  When  feuds  are  raging,  the  care  of  the 
sheep  and  camels  is  entrusted  to  the  females,  whilst  the  warlike 
youth  is  on  horseback  in  the  camp,  under  the  banner  of  the  Emir. 
The  long  remembrance  of  their  independence  is  the  surest  gua- 
rantee of  its  continuance,  succeeding  generations  being  encouraged 
by  it  to  act  worthily  of  their  descent,  and  to  maintain  their  inhe- 
ritance. When  the  Arabs  advance  to  battle,  they  have  the  hope 
of  victory  before  them,  and  behind  them  the  security  of  retreat. 
If  they  are  defeated,  their  horses  and  camels,  trained  to  immense 
marches,  disappear  before  the  victor ;  the  secret  wells  of  the  Desert 
escape  his  inquiries ;  and  his  victorious  troops  are  destroyed  by 
hunger,  thirst,  and  exhaustion,  in  the  pursuit  of  an  invisible 
enemy,  who  defies  their  exertions,  and  is  secure  in  the  unap- 
proachable interior  of  the'Desert.  Yet  the  life  of  the  noraade 
Arab  is,  on  the  whole,  full  of  sufferings,  privations,  and  dangers; 
and  though  he  sometimes  may  get  the  products  of  industry  by 
barter  or  by  plunder,  yet,  as  a  celebrated  historian  justly  remarks, 
a  common  man  in  Europe  possesses  more  comforts  and  substantial 
enjoyments,  than  the  proudest  Arab  Emir  who  takes  the  field  with 
ten  thousand  horsemen. 


THE  ARABS.  127 

All  the  ancient  authors  who  wrote  ou  Arabia  agree  in  their 
description  of  the  condition  and  character  of  that  people ;  and 
the  qualities  described,  good  or  bad,  are,  according  to  Niebuhr, 
d'Herbelot,  d' Arvieux,  and  Burckhardt,  yet  to  be  found  unchanged 
with  the  Arabs  of  our  days.  Besides  their  deeply-rooted  love  of 
national  independence  and  individual  freedom,  it  is  their  desire  of 
glory,  their  abstinence,  their  poetical  spirit,  their  hospitality,  and 
sometimes  their  generosity  and  magnanimity,  which  are  praised. 
But  their  rapacity  and  avarice,  and  their  vindictive  wrath,  the 
venality  of  their  friendship  and  the  inconstancy  of  their  faith, 
did  not  remain  hidden  from  those  who  had  to  deal  with  them. 
Islamism  has  added  some  new  virtues  and  vices  to  their  charac- 
ter, but  has  left  it  unaltered  in  the  principal  features. 

The  religion  of  the  Arabs  before  the  appearance  of  Mahomet 
was  Sabaeism — the  worship  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars. 
The  lights  of  the  firmament  shine  as  though  the  visible  image  of 
Godhead.  Their  number  and  distance  excite,  in  every  thinking 
mind,  the  idea  of  unlimited  space ;  the  character  of  stability  is 
impressed  upon  those  globes,  which  seem  to  defy  ruin  and  de- 
struction. To  the  learned  and  fanciful  observer,  the  regularity 
of  their  movements  seems  to  indicate  the  grandest  knowledge  of 
geometry  and  arithmetic ;  and  their  real  influence  on  the  seasons, 
and  their  imaginary  connexion  with  all  that  is  living  in  nature, 
gave  rise  to  the  delusion  that  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  were 
under  their  peculiar  care.  A  pure  unclouded  sky  and  a  boundless 
plain  became  the  school  of  astronomy  for  the  Arabs.  They  were 
guided  by  the  stars  in  their  nightly  wanderings — their  name, 
order,  and  daily  position,  were  well  known  to  the  Arab  nomade, 
who  had  learned  by  experience  to  divide  the  zodiac  of  the  moon 
into  twenty-eight  parts ;  and  to  bless  the  constellations,  which, 
according  to  his  belief,  recruited  the  thirsty  wilderness  by  propi- 
tious showers.  Besides  this  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the 
Arabs  of  the  different  tribes  had  their  local  idols,  impersonations 
of  the  power  of  nature. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  people  when  Mohammed-ben- 


128  THE  ARABS. 

Abdallah,  whom  we  commonly  call  Mahomet,  appeared  among 
them.  He  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  Koreish,  and  to  the  family 
of  the  Hashem,  a  noble  race  in  his  country.  According  to  his 
contemporaries,  he  was  distinguished  by  personal  beauty,  a  gift 
which  is  seldom  despised,  except,  perhaps,  by  those  who  are  not 
endowed  with  it.  He  possessed,  besides,  great  eloquence,  which 
was  enhanced  by  a  melodious  voice,  pure  diction,  and  a  glow- 
ing imagination.  His  hearers  admired  his  commanding  appear- 
ance, his  piercing  eye,  his  countenance — which  reflected  every 
emotion  of  the  soul — and  his  gestures,  which  gave  weight  to  every 
word  his  lips  uttered.  Mohammed  was  addicted  to  religious  con- 
templation from  his  early  youth.  He  withdrew  every  year,  in 
the  month  of  Ramadan,  from  the  world,  and  from  his  beloved 
wife,  Kadisha,  and  remained  for  twenty-eight  days  in  the  cave  of 
Hera,  three  miles  from  Mecca,  buried  in  ecstatic  meditation.  The 
faith  which  he  preached,  under  the  name  of  Islam,  to  his  family 
and  to  his  nation,  is  contained  in  the  sentence:  "  There  is  but  one 
God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet."  The  followers  of  that 
extraordinary  man,  who  had  their  religious  enthusiasm  roused  by 
his  fiery  words,  and  had  their  courage  steeled  by  his  example,  in 
the  first  successful  struggles,  extended  the  new  creed  with  that 
religious  symbol  on  their  lips  and  the  sword  in  their  hand.  The 
Koran,  a  strange  compound  of  the  most  beautiful  moral  precepts 
and  the  most  absurd  contradictions,  was  favourable  to  the  propa- 
gation of  "Islam"  (salvation),  alike  by  persuasion  and  by  vio- 
lence. By  permitting  the  enjoyment  of  riches  and  beauty  on 
earth,  and  promising  the  most  delightftil  pleasures  in  a  future 
paradise,  it  attracted  as  many  proselytes,  as  it  inspired  zealous 
confessors,  to  advance  to  contest  and  death  for  the  propagation  of 
the  creed,  the  highest  delights  of  the  Mohammedan  heaven  being 
especially  reserved  for  the  martyrs  of  faith.  "  The  sword,"  says 
Mohammed,  "  is  the  key  to  heaven  and  hell ;  one  drop  of  blood 
spilt  for  the  cause  of  Allah,  one  night  passed  in  watching  under 
arms,  is  of  more  avail  than  two  months  of  fasting  and  prayer. 
Whosoever  dies  in  battle,  his  sins  are  forgiven.    On  the  day  of 


THE  ARABS.  129 

judgment  liis  wounds  will  shine  like  scarlet,  and  smell  like  musk ; 
and  the  loss  of  limbs  will  be  made  good  by  angels'  wings."  It 
was  natural  that  where  the  faith  in  such  a  promise  was  strong 
and  ardent,  jjiany  swords  should  be  unsheathed,  and  many  enthu- 
siasts seek  death ;  and  that  the  success  of  the  followers  of  such  a 
religion  was  prodigious  in  war.  Arabia,  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt, 
Barbary,  and  Spain,  were  conquered  in  less  than  a  century;  never 
has  a  larger  empire  risen  in  so  short  a  time.  But  the  decisive  de- 
feat of  the  fanatical  Arabs  by  Charles  Martel  in  France  stopped 
their  progress — the  confidence  of  success  abandoned  them ;  and 
from  that  time  Islamism  has,  even  among  its  followers,  lost  the 
prospect  of  becoming  the  dom.inant  religion. 

In  speaking  of  the  Arabs  of  Northern  Africa,  w^hose  customs 
and  character  I  am  about  to  describe — I  mean  the  descendants  of 
those  fifty  thousand  families  of  pure  Arabs  who,  in  the  seventh 
century,  crossed  the  Nile,  wandered  through  the  Libyan  Desert, 
and,  following  the  armies  of  Akbar,  Hassan,  and  Mussa,  settled 
in  Numidia  and  Mauritania,  after  the  defeat  of  the  Berbers  and 
Moors. — They  generally  remained  attached  to  their  ancestral  mode 
of  life;  though  it  cannot  be  denied  that  their  transplantation  to  an- 
other country  and  climate,  and  their  contact  with  so  many  foreign 
nations,  could  not  and  did  not  remain  without  Influence  upon  them. 
It  is  Incorrect  to  suppose  that  they  remained  entirely  pure  from  any 
crossing  with  the  blood  of  the  conquered  people.  Though  commonly 
very  strongly  separated  from  the  Kabyles  and  Moors,  yet  there  are 
tribes  among  whom  we  see  traces  of  transition.  Several  tribes  of 
Kabyles,  in  the  province  of  Constantine,  speak  Arabic ;  with  the 
Kabyles  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Ghelma,  the  tongue,  type,  and  cos- 
tume of  the  Arabs,  are  predominant.  The  tribe  of  the  Amrauahs, 
near  Dellys,  Is  half  Arabic  half  Berber;  and  in  manners,  physi- 
ognomy, and  dress,  the  Moors  of  Mascara  approach  the  Arabs.  It 
Is  likewise  well  known,  that  in  the  frequent  wars,  which  are  the 
scourge  of  that  country,  many  Moorish  citizens  were  compelled,  by 
the  ruin  of  their  houses,  to  seek  an  asylum  with  the  Arab  tribes  In 
the  wilderness,  and  either  to  become  entirely  Arabs,  or  to  intermix 


130  THE  ARABS. 

with  the  tribes.  This  case  has  often  occurred  since  1830.  The 
Kabyle  population  of  the  city  of  Arzew  joined  the  Arab  inhabi- 
tants of  the  plain  of  Ceirat,  and  many  Moors  of  Mostaganem  took 
up  their  abode  with  the  tribes  on  the  Shelif.  Pellisier  estimates 
the  Moors  who  have  emigrated  and  intermixed  with  Arabs,  since 
1830,  in  round  numbers,  at  ten  thousand  families.  Yet  those 
crossings  of  blood  are  exceptions ;  the  Arab  population  remained, 
on  the  whole,  the  purest  among  the  nations  of  Barbary ;  they  pre- 
served their  original  type  most  faithfully,  and  are,  without  doubt, 
the  most  homogeneous,  and  most  vigorous  portion  of  the  natives. 
Geographers  and  historians  divide  the  Arab  people,  according 
to  their  manner  of  life,  into  two  classes  :  into  settled  Arabs,  tillers 
of  the  ground,  or  addicted  to  commerce,  living  in  fixed  abodes,  in 
villages,  or  cities ;  and  roving  Bedouins,  keepers  of  cattle,  and  oc- 
casionally robbers.  The  German  historian,  Schlosser,  pertinently 
remarks,  that  only  those  people  have  a  history  who  are  bound  to 
a  certain  country  by  agriculture  or  fixed  abodes.  The  nomades  of 
the  Desert  have  only  a  genealogy,  and  are  easily  incorporated 
into  other  tribes.  The  Arabs  of  Algeria  are  not  acquainted  with 
the  word  Bedavi,  which  means,  in  pure  Arabic,  the  "  country 
people,"  and  became  the  root  of  the  term  Bedouins.  They  call 
themselves  simply  Arabs,  and  only  the  few  Arabs  who  have 
settled  in  towns,  and  whose  number  scarcely  amounts  to  a  few 
hundreds,  are  designated  by  the  name  of  Hadars  (villagers,  citi- 
zens), which  is  applied  by  the  nomade  tribes  to  the  citizens,  with- 
out respect  to  nationality.  The  great  Arab  country-population  of 
Algeria  approaches,  in  manners  and  customs,  the  original  Be- 
douins ;  except,  however,  that  as  far  as  the  cultivable  soil  extends, 
they  move  only  in  a  certain  portion  of  the  country,  which  con- 
stitutes the  territory  of  the  tribe  called  Uthan,  and  Avhich  they 
do  not  leave  without  extraordinary  causes.  Only  those  tribes  are 
real  Bedouins  who  live  in  the  Belad-el-Jerid  (Land  of  Dates)  in 
the  Kobla  (the  South)  and  on  the  confines  of  the  Desert,  who  do 
not  till  the  ground,  but  roam  about,  with  their  flocks  of  sheep  and 
camels,  in  search  of  pasture  grounds.   The  language  of  the  Arabs 


THE  ARABS.  131 

of  Barbary  is  a  dialect  of  the  pure  Arabic,  which  is  understood 
by  the  Egyptians  only  with  difficulty,  and  scarcely,  if  at  all,  by 
the  Syrians  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  great  Peninsula.  Yet  it 
is  easy  to  find  out  the  Arabic  root  in  every  word,  though  entirely 
corrupted. 

The  Arabs  of  Barbary  are  a  strongly  built,  handsome  race, 
equal  in  height  to  the  Scotch  Highlanders.  It  is  rare  to  see  a 
very  lean  Arab,  and,  among  the  thousands  with  whom  I  came  into 
contact,  I  never  saw  one  who  was  very  fat.  This  is  a  race  which 
is  preserved  against  bodily  degeneration  by  dwelling  under  the 
airy  tent,  by  its  manifold  exercise  in  the  fres  air,  and  by  uni- 
form and  simple  food.  The  Arabs  have  a  sun-burnt  countenance; 
they  wear  a  short  beard  and  mustache,  and  shave  the  head,  leav- 
ing a  long  lock  only  on  the  top.  Their  teeth  are  white  and 
handsome ;  their  black  eyes  have  a  proud  and  fearless  expression ; 
their  deportment  is  daring  and  commanding ;  but  when  they  are 
on  the  back  of  a  horse,  camel,  or  ass,  they  bend  the  head  forward 
in  a  stooping  attitude.  Their  garb  is  a  white  haikh  (robe),  which 
covers  the  body  like  a  broad  shirt  from  head  to  foot.  Common 
Arabs  wear  it  next  to  the  skin ;  men  of  rank  over  an  undershirt. 
The  haikh  is  fastened  to  the  bald  head  by  a  brown  rope  of  camel 
hair,  which  serves  as  a  turban.  The  haikh  is  spun  of  fine  wool, 
and  above  it  the  Arabs  throw  a  wide  flowing  cloak,  called  the 
burnus,  woven  of  coarser  wool,  white  among  the  tribes  of  the 
province  of  Constantine,  but  in  the  western  provinces,  where 
black  sheep  are  frequent,  it  is  often  of  a  black  colour.  The  cowl 
on  the  top  of  the  woollen  cloak  is  drawn  over  the  head  in  rainy 
weather.  The  bare  legs  of  the  Arabs  are  screened  by  the  burnus ; 
on  the  feet  they  bind  a  piece  of  ox-hide  with  strings,  turning  the 
hair  outside ;  but  instead  of  this  poor  clothing  of  the  feet,  all  the 
chiefs,  and  generally  all  the  Arabs  of  rank,  wear  yellow  high  boots 
of  agreeable  form.  Most  of  the  Sheikhs  are  attired  in  wide  trou- 
sers, and  a  few  of  the  highest  chiefs  wear  waistcoats,  embroidered 
with  gold,  like  the  Turks  ;  but  in  general  only  on  grand  occasions, 
as,  for  instance,  on  the  Bairan  feast.     The  attire  of  the  females 


J  32  THE  ARABS.  ' 

consists  of  a  wide  woollen  shirt,  with  short  sleeves,  girt  with  a 
rope,  and  fastened  on  the  chest  with  large  iron  pins.  Their  hair 
is  disorderly,  braided  in  long  tresses,  and  often  covered  by  a  gaudy 
handkerchief.  They  tattoo  their  legs,  breast,  and  face,  from  their 
twelfth  year,  and  dye  their  nails  brown- red  with  henna.  On 
the  arms  and  legs  they  wear  thick  clasps ;  among  the  rich,  made 
of  silver ;  but  among  the  poor,  of  brass  and  iron.  In  their  ears 
they  wear  enormous  rings,  and  love  generally  all  such  ornaments. 
Though  the  Koran  enjoins  the  females  to  wear  veils,  yet  the  Arab 
women  appear  unveiled,  with  the  exception  of  the  wives  of  the 
saintl}^  Marabuts,  who  strictly  adhere  to  the  precept  of  the  Prophet. 
With  their  toilsome  manner  of  life,  and  their  dwelling  under  the 
hot  sun,  the  wearing  of  the  veil  would  be  an  unbearable  burden 
for  the  Arab  females. 

The  majority  of  the  Arabs  dwell  in  black  tents  of  camel  hair, 
which  are  commonly  pitched  in  groups  of  ten  to  twenty,  and  form 
a  duar  (in  Arab  a  round  or  circuit),  or  moveable  village.  In 
the  province  of  Oran,  and  in  the  south  of  the  province  of  Constan- 
"tine,  there  are  duars  of  from  three  to  four  hundred  tents,  pitched  in 
^  large  circle,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  flocks  are  enclosed.  Arab 
life  has  its  distinguishing  features  in  those  parts  of  the  country, 
whilst  the  miserable  tribes  of  the  Metija,  near  Algiers,  are  dis- 
•persed  in  poor  duars  of  at  most  twelve  tents.  A  few  tribes,  as,  for 
instance,  ti  portion  of  the  Beni-Khalil,  and  Khashna,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood ^f  Algiers,  have  given  up  the  primeval  custom  of  living 
in  tents,  and  have  built  themselves  huts  of  straw,  almost  more 
wretched  than  the  tents.  Those  huts  are  called  gurbi,  and  are  like- 
•wise  found  standing  in  groups  from  ten  to  twenty ;  they  form  small 
villages  called  jeenas  in  the  plain,  and  dashkrahs  in  the  mountains. 
The  tent  or  hut  is  commonly  divided  by  a  camel-hair  curtain  into 
two  compartments.  The  females  withdraw  to  one  of  them  when 
a  guest  visits  their  lord,  though  the  Arab  women  are  not  pecu- 
liarly shy  of  being  seen  by  foreigners.  The  Arabs  possess  but 
little  furniture ;  a  few  mats  braided  of  palm  leaves,  some  sheep- 
skins with  which  they  cover  themselves  in  cool  nights,  a  dozen  of 


THE  ARABS.  133' 

earthen  jugs  for  water,  milk,  and  butter,  the  necessary  tools  for 
wearing  the  burnuses,  a  small  handmill  for  grinding  wheat,  arms 
and  horsegear — in  this  consists  the  whole  establishment  of  an  Arab. 
Each  of  the  tent  or  hut-villages  is  under  the  command  of  a 
Sheikh,  or  Shekh,  in  whose  family  the  dignity  is  often  hereditary. 
From  thirty  to  forty  villages  commonly  form  a  tribe,  but  there 
are  tribes  which  consist  of  several  hundred  duars,  especially  in 
the  fertile  countries  of  the  province  of  Oran.  The  tribes,  like  the 
clans,  are  an  expansion  of  the  family.  Accordingly  they  add  to 
the  name  of  the  original  family  the  word  Ulid  (children),  or  Beni 
(sons),  for  instance,  Ulid  Maadi^  children  of  Maadi,  or  Beni  Mussa 
sons  of  Mussa,  Moshesh.  The  chief  of  a  tribe  bears  the  title  of 
Kaid.  There  are  such  chiefs  who  can  lead  from  three  to  four 
thousand  horsemen  to  the  field.  These  Kaids,  as  likewise  many  of 
the  Sheikhs,  often  live  in  stone  houses,  called  haushs,  surrounded 
by  trees  and  hedges  of  cactus;  the  duars  are  grouped  around 
them.  The  Kaids  and  Sheikhs  form  a  kind  of  nobility  among  the 
Arab  people.  The  Kaid  is  the  chief-justice  of  the  tribe,  and 
chairman  in  the  large  meetings,  at  the  fairs,  &c.,  where  quarrels 
and  blows  are  probable,  and  where  his  interference  is  often  called  for. 
The  Sheikh  is  the  judge  in  his  duar.  The  Kaids  and  Sheikhs 
have  likewise  the  command  in  war  at  the  head  of  their  horsemen, 
but  their  authority  is  only  respected  so  long  as  they  give  evidence  of 
personal  gallantry,  and  advance  courageously  into  the  fire.  Be- 
sides this  military  nobility,  endowed  with  secular  authority,  every 
tribe  has  likewise  its  religious  nobility,  the  Marabuts,  before 
whose  influence  the  credit  of  the  military  grandees  often  wanes. 

Hamdan  Ben  Othman  Khoja  (Hamdan,  the  son  of  Othman  the 
clerk),  a  Moorish  author,  derives  the  etymology  of  the  word 
Marabut  (Arabice  Marabut)  from  Rabata, — that  is  to  say,  hound ; 
as  the  Marabut,  according  to  the  strange  explanation  of  Hamdan, 
has  bound  himself  to  Allah,  only  to  live  for  the  weal  of  his  be- 
lieving brothers.  A  Sheikh  of  the  Garrabas,  who  introduced  a 
Marabut  of  his  tribe  to  me,  repeated  the  word  Santos^  in  order  to 
explain  his  dignity  emphatically  in  the  Lingua  Franca.     And 


134  THE  ARABS. 

really  I  tliink  that  it  is  hardly  possible  better  to  interpret  the 
title  of  Marabut  than  by  that  of  a  "  saint."  The  Marabuts 
are  also  priests,  but  it  is  not  the  office  of  the  priest  alone  which 
makes  them  Marabuts.  The  veneration  paid  to  them  depends 
principally  upon  their  holy  course  of  life,  their  continency  and 
charity,  and  likewise,  to  a  certain  degree,  on  their  talents  and 
acquirements.  The  calling  of  the  Marabut  requires  that  he 
should  be  able  to  write,  to  read,  and  expound  the  Koran ;  that 
he  should  live  in  retirement,  give  up  sensual  enjoyments,  (Mara- 
buts never  smoke,)  and  offer  a  good  example  to  the  Arabs  by 
suppressing  the  passions,  and  leading  a  pious  life.  He  loses  his 
influence  by  neglecting  either  of  those  duties,  though  he  retains 
the  title  hereditary  in  his  family.  The  most  renowned  Marabuts 
keep  seminaries,  or  ghetnas,  where  they  instruct  the  youth. 
Crowds  of  devotees  frequently  assemble  there  to  listen  to  the 
sermon  and  prayers  ;  and  the  hermitages  of  those  holy  men  are 
asylums  for  every  sufferer,  which  even  the  brutal  tyranny  of  the 
Beys  seldom  dares  to  violate,  and  never  without  the  greatest 
danger,  since  the  fanaticism  of  the  Arabs  always  takes  revenge 
for  the  violation  of  such  a  refuge.  The  conduct  and  deportment 
of  the  Marabuts  find  a  fair  reward  in  the  unanimous  and  cordial 
veneration  of  their  tribe,  sometimes  of  all  their  nation,  and  are 
highly  advantageous  to  the  people.  How  much  blood  is  spared, 
how  many  crimes  are  prevented,  how  many  enemies  are  recon- 
ciled, by  the  intervention  of  the  Marabuts!  With  a  people  so  irri- 
table, vindictive,  and  anarchical — where  the  seduction  of  a  female, 
the  theft  of  a  horse,  or  an  insignificant  insult,  often  involves  great 
tribes  in  deadly  feud,  in  which  the  terrible  excitement  apparently 
cannot  be  drowned  but  in  torrents  of  blood — the  part  of  a  peace- 
maker is  noble  and  sublime.  At  the  risk  of  his  life,  he  throws 
himself  between  the  struggling  antagonists,  who  through  passion 
are  deaf  to  every  reasonable  word,  and  insensible  even  to  the  ties 
of  blood.  For  they  do  not  listen  to  the  voice  even  of  a  brother : 
but  are  overawed  only  by  the  appearance  of  the  saintly  hermit, 
before  whose  earnest  look  the  yatagan  is  lowered,  and  the  fury 


THE  ARABS.  ^  135 

m 

of  the  passions  is  soothed.  The  influence  of  the  Marabuts  does 
not  prevent  frequent  feuds,  but  their  timely  interference  quells 
them  before  considerable  blood  has  been  shed.  It  is,  however, 
not  only  in  such  serious  and  dangerous  occurrences  that  the 
Marabut  is  the  conciliating  mediator;  his  beneficent  influence 
pervades  every  relation  of  the  tribes ;  he  adjusts  the  quarrels  of 
indiv^iduals,  and  mitigates  their  hatred  ;  he  gives  good  advice  to 
those  who  are  weak  in  mind,  and  comfort  to  those  who  are  un- 
happy. His  words  seldom  remain  without  eff*ect ;  and  where  his 
voice  is  unheeded,  it  is  generally  not  to  the  advantage  of  those 
who  despise  him.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  French  sol- 
diers who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Arabs,  and  had  told 
me  the  history  of  their  sufferings.  They  were  shamefully  ill- 
treated  :  the  men  beat  them,  the  females  spit  on  them,  the  chil- 
dren threw  dirt  and  stones,  uttering  also  imprecations  on  them  ; 
they  would  in  a  few  days  have  been  overpowered  under  such  tor- 
tures, but  for  the  interference  of  the  Marabuts.  Those  pious  men 
became  their  protectors,  as  they  were  in  fact  the  only  people 
whose  protection  could  be  of  avail  for  them,  since  any  emotion  of 
compassion  or  magnanimity  in  a  common  Arab  would  have  been 
immediately  put  down  by  the  savage  fanaticism  of  the  majority. 
Though  the  Marabut  is  always  inclined  to  preach  the  "  lad,"  or 
holy  war,  against  the  Christians,  and  to  excite  the  people,  in 
flaming  words,  to  spill  the  blood  of  the  infidels,  yet  his  hatred  is 
quenched  when  he  sees  the  Christian  a  captive,  disarmed,  and 
humbled.  The  higher  culture,  the  more  enlightened  views,  the 
frequent  religious  contemplation,  and  especially  the  habit  of  act- 
ing as  the  peacemaker  and  mediator  among  this  savage  people, 
have  imbued  him  with  a  kind  of  mildness  which  is  unknown  to 
the  rest  of  the  Arabs;  and  though  he  incites  them  to  war  against 
the  intruding  "  Rummis,"  and  often  fights  in  the  foremost  rank, 
yet  no  unhappy  enemy  will  make  an  unsuccessful  appeal  to  his 
pity.  When  the  French  prisoners  rejected  with  scorn  the  pro- 
position of  accepting  the  Islam,  the  Marabut  always  protected 
them  against  ill  treatment.     Wendelin  Schlosser — a  soldier  of 


136  THE  ARABS. 

tlie  Foreign  Leglbn,  who  was  made  prisoner  in  1834,  and  lived 
with  the  Arabs  for  several  years — and  his  fellow- sufferers,  were 
always  treated  with  kindness  by  Sidi  AH  Ben  Aissa  (Sidi  Ali, 
the  son  of  Jesus),  a  celebrated  Marabut  of  the  tribe  of  Flissas, 
though  they  remained  Christians.  Several  prisoners  in  Constan- 
tine,  who  fled  from  the  cruelty  of  Ahmet  Bey,  found  shelter  and 
protection  with  the  Marabuts  of  the  southern  tribes,  nor  did 
the  tyrant  dare  to  violate  the  asylum  of  those  hermits.  The 
memory  of  Sidi  Mohammed  Mubarek,  (the  Blessed,)  the  most 
celebrated  Marabut  of  the  province  of  Algeria,  was  cordially  vene- 
rated by  everybody  who  had  made  his  acquaintance,  the  Euro- 
peans not  excepted.  He  was  a  mild  old  man,  who  exercised  great 
influence  over  all  the  tribes  of  Algeria,  and  always  for  peaceable 
objects.  The  unjust  persecutions  which  he  had  to  endure  under  the 
despotic  Duke  of  Rovigo,  and  his  imprisonment  for  several  years, 
had  not  embittered  him  against  the  Christians  :  and  up  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  he  remained  sincerely  attached  to  General  Voirol, 
the  successor  of  the  Duke,  who  had  released  him.  Sidi  Moham- 
med did  not  avoid  religious  disputations  with  Europeans,  but  he 
discussed  the  question  without  vehemence.  I  have  myself  made 
the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  Marabuts  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Aribes,  Beni  Urshia,  Duairs,  and  Zmelas,  and  have  often  en- 
joyed with  delight  their  kind  social  intercourse  and  agreeable 
conversation. 

But  though  the  influence  of  the  Marabuts  on  the  domestic 
affairs  of  their  countrymen  is,  on  the  whole,  favourable  and  bene- 
ficent, we  cannot  be  blind  to  the  reverse  side  of  their  character. 
As  their  power  is  founded  exclusively  on  the  religious  feeling  of 
the  Arabs,  and  the  slackening  of  the  fiery  religious  enthusiasm  of 
those  rough  and  bigoted  tribes  would  deprive  the  Marabuts  of 
their  undisputed  authority  and  boundless  influence  in  the  country, 
they  are  prompted  by  their  own  interest  to  estrange  the  people 
from  every  kind  of  enlightenment,  progress,  or  reform,  and  espe- 
cially from  all  continuous  and  intimate  intercourse  with  the  Chris- 
tians.    They  try  to  keep  the  Arabs  for  ever  separated  from  the 


THE  ARABS.  137 

Europeans ;  they  try  to  prevent  their  people  from  living  amongst 
the  intruders,  and  becoming  friendly  to  their  manners  and  cus- 
toms, lest  the  fanaticism  of  the  Arabs  should  be  lulled  into 
oblivion  by  too  long  a  peace,  and  too  intimate  relations  with  the 
Europeans.*  It  cannot  be  denied  that  much  bloodshed  and  many 
misfortunes  would  have  been  spared  to  Algeria  but  for  the  fanatic 
preaching  of  the  Marabuts.  Wherever  the  French  met  with  for- 
midable, compact,  and  lasting  resistance,  it  was  always  a  priest 
who  headed  the  enemy.  The  nobles  of  the  military  classes  tried 
sometimes  to  get  ascendancy  in  the  interior,  to  extend  their  power 
over  several  provinces,  and  to  found  an  Arabic  empire,  in  order 
to  organize  the  resistance  against  the  French  on  a  grander  scale. 
But  their  plans  were  wrecked  by  the  rivalry  and  jealousy  of  the 
other  chieftains.  Not  one  of  those  military  grandees  succeeded  in 
extending  his  authority  farther  than  over  a  few  tribes,  whilst  the 
country  subjected  itself  without  much  opposition  to  Abd-el-Kader, 
(servant  of  the  powerful),  the  young  son  of  the  Marabut  Sidi 
Mahiddin.  Old  Mustapha  Ben  Ismail,  Ka'id  of  the  Duairs  and 
Zmelas,  had  been  the  Agha  of  the  Arabs  as  early  as  the  time  of  the 
Deys.  He  was  one  of  the  most  renowned  warriors  of  the  country,  of 
such  haughty  carriage  as  is  seldom  seen ;  a  man  born  to  be  a  ruler, 
full  of  energy  and  gallantry ;  he  was,  besides,  advanced  in  years  and 
experience,  and  well  acquainted  with  all  the  affairs  of  the  tribes. 
This  chieftain  was  the  most  deadly  enemy  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and 
led  all  his  partizans  into  the  field  against  the  rising  power  of  the 
Emir  of  the  Hashems.  But  the  old  hero  soon  gave  way  before 
the  young  son  of  the  Marabut ;  and,  forsaken  by  his  followers,  he 
soon  had  to  flee  to  Tlemsan,  where  at  last  he  threw  himself  on  the 
protection  of  the  French.  The  Arab  warrior  chiefs  are  much  less 
dangerous  adversaries  of  the  French  than  the  Marabut  chiefs.  The 
former  have  other  passions  besides  their  fanaticism,  which  balance 
one  another.  They  are  greedy  of  power  and  money,  and  less  strict 
in  the  observance  of  the  precepts  of  the  Koran  :   they  can  be 

*  Is  not  this  picture  of  the  Marabuts  and  their  influence  the  exact  counterpart 
of  the  Soman  Catholic  priests  in  Ireland  ? 


138  THE  ARABS. 

bought  by  bribes ;  and  jealousy  and  envy  towards  their  rival.' 
are  often  more  powerful  with  them  than  all  religious  motives. 
The  Marabuts,  on  the  contrary,  are  either  really  more  zealous  in 
their  faith  than  the  military  grandees,  or,  at  least,  they  keep  up 
the  semblance  of  it.  They  lose  their  spiritual  influence  as  soon  as 
they  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Christians.  They  can, 
for  a  certain  time,  recommend  peace  with  the  "  Rummis,"  but  they 
cannot  subject  themselves  to  their  sovereignty.  When  Captain 
Alegro,  who  was  sent  to  Abd-el-Kader  with  proposals  from  the 
French  Government,  advised  the  Emir  to  lower  his  pretensions, 
and  to  offer  a  nominal  tribute  to  the  King  of  France  as  his  liege 
lord,  the  chieftain  said — "  Did  I  pay  to-day  a  single  farthing  as 
tribute,  to-morrow  I  should  be  forsaken  by  all  my  friends." 

What  I  have  said  of  the  character  of  the  Marabuts,  applies  only 
to  those  who  are  highly  venerated  by  their  people,  and  who  enjoy 
a  long  tried  influence.  Sidi  Mohammed  Mubarek  at  Coleah, 
Sidi  Abderrahman  (servant  of  the  just)  of  the  Flissas,  Sidi  Ma- 
hiddin  of  Mascara,  were  really  men  of  a  noble  character,  rising 
by  their  virtues,  if  not  by  their  enlightenment,  above  the  standard 
of  their  people.  But  not  all  the  individuals  who  assume  the  title 
of  Marabuts,  are  really  saintly  men.  There  is  amongst  them 
many  a  crazy  fellow,  and  many  a  hypocrite,  who  puts  on  the  most 
devout  countenance  at  prayers,  and  writhes  in  the  dust,  whilst  in 
secret  such  indulge  in  luxury  and  rapaciousness.  There  are  also 
not  a  few  swindlers  among  them,  who  deceive  the  multitude  by 
juggling  tricks,  affecting  to  be  possessed,  speaking  in  a  mysterious 
and  prophetic  way,  and  greedy  of  power  and  riches,  and  find  it 
easier  to  get  influence  by  deceit  than  by  a  restrained  life,  and  the 
example  of  their  virtues.  I  saw  likewise  more  than  one  real  mad- 
man amongst  those  so-called  saints.  They  were  of  gloomy  appear- 
ance, with  a  roving  expression  in  their  features,  and  covered  with 
dirt  and  vermin.  But  only  a  certain  degree  of  reverence  was  paid 
to  them  by  the  Arabs.  The  renown  and  influence  of  such  Marabuts, 
of  the  fourth  and  fifth  order,  whose  number  is  very  large,  does  not 
extend  beyond  their  duar;  yet  most  of  the  great  and  celebrated 


THE  ARABS.  1  39 

Marabuts  deserve  that  high  respect  which  the  nation  pays  to  them 
in  such  a  marked  manner,  by  their  mildness  and  charity,  which 
is  in  entire  harmony  with  the  highest  Christian  precepts. 

Marabuts,  Kaids,  and  Sheikhs,  form,  with  the  tribes,  the  class  of 
grandees  (Atsul-el-Kebir)  who  make  their  superiority  felt  as 
judges  in  quarrels,  as  leading  men  in  council,  and  as  chiefs  in 
war.  The  military  grandees  sometimes  make  small  exactions, 
especially  on  the  market,  but  always  in  an  indirect  way,  so  that 
the  profit  which  they  get,  seems  rather  to  be  a  cheat  than  an  ex- 
tortion. The  celebrated  Marabuts  receive  rich  voluntary  tribute. 
Thus,  most  of  them  are  well  off,  and  able  to  afford  hospitality 
on  a  large  scale  to  their  numerous  visitors.  The  privileges  of  this 
nobility  of  warriors,  and  of  these  saints,  are,  however,  very  re- 
stricted, and  I  do  not  know  any  people  in  the  world  where,  on  the 
whole,  there  is  more  practical  equality.  All  the  Marabuts  are 
attired  in  the  same  way  as  the  most  common  Arab :  some  of  them 
are  even  distinguished  by  being  dirtier  and  more  ragged.  Abd- 
el-Kader,  who  ruled  over  a  territory  of  more  than  150,000  square 
miles,  and  could  gather  40,000  horsemen  around  his  banner, 
could  not  be  distinguished  by  his  attire  from  his  Bedouins.  When 
he  had  his  celebrated  interview  with  General  Bugeaud  on  the 
Tafna,  he  wore  an  old  and  shabby  burnus  like  the  poorest  of 
his  followers.  It  is  only  in  their  arms  and  horse-gear  that 
Kaids  and  Sheikhs  display  more  pomp  than  other  Arabs.  At 
festive  occasions,  especially  on  the  Bairam,  they  are  clad  in  white 
trousers  and  gold- embroidered  waistcoats  like  the  Turks;  but  this 
is  not  a  privilege  of  the  chiefs;  for  every  wealthy  man  of  the  tribe 
may  do  the  same.  The  grandees  live  in  a  way  resembling  that  of 
their  countrymen.  The  Kaid  is  not  ashamed  himself  to  fetch  a  sheep 
of  the  flock,  to  kill  it  with  his  own  hand,  and  to  roast  it  on  the  fire.* 
Like  all  the  other  Arabs,  he  himself  carries  his  corn  or  cattle  to 
market;  his  wife  weaves  at  home  the  woollen  burnus,  cooks  the 
kuskusu,  and  fetches  water  from  the  well,  while  his  son  guards  the 

*  As  Abraham  and  the  Homeric  heroes.  % 


140  THE  ARABS. 

sheep,  along  with  other  lads  of  the  tribe.  The  Arabs  are  very  civil 
with  one  another;  when  they  meet,  they  reciprocally  touch  their 
hands,  and  raise  then  their  own  hand  to  the  lips.  The  questions, 
Wash  halekf  Wash  hinta?  (How  do  you  do?)  are  repeated  on  both 
sides  as  often  as  in  England,  and  are  followed  by  a  few  more  cere- 
monial questions,  occupying  a  few  minutes  before  the  real  conversa- 
tion begins.  Their  serious  and  wild  features  then  assume  a  very 
mild  and  kind  expression.  At  such  a  moment,  we  feel  inclined  to  love 
this  people,  though  their  character  is  sullied  by  so  many  stains.  The 
salutation  between  the  common  Arab  and  the  chieftain  is  the  same; 
they  treat  one  another  with  equal  civility  and  cordiality.  With 
great  Marabuts,  however,  people  first  kiss  their  hand,  but  after  that 
the  visitor  takes  a  seat,  without  further  ceremony,  at  the  side 
of  the  saint,  and  converses  with  him  in  an  easy  and  unembarrassed 
way.  The  same  was  the  case  with  Abd-el-Kader,  whom  his 
dignity  did  not  elevate  above  equality.  Altogether,  the  Arab  is 
never  embarrassed  by  human  power  and  greatness,  nor  cowed  into 
subjection.  He  never  loses  his  proud*  carriage,  and  does  not  cast 
down  his  eyes,  either  before  the  splendour  of  the  throne,  or  the 
yatagan  of  the  executioner.  The  words  which  he  puts  in  the 
mouth  of  Allah : — 

"  My  slave,  why  dost  thou  fear  my  slave  ? 
Is  bis  life  not  as  much  in  my  hands  as  thine  ?" 

express  beautifully  and  forcibly  this  feeling  of  human  dignity 
with  the  Arab.  He  maintains  the  same  sentiment  when  a  pri- 
soner before  his  enemy  or  his  judge.  I  saw  in  May,  1837,  at 
Belida,  prisoners  advancing  to  the  presence  of  General  Damre- 
mont  and  his  staff,  who  were  not  at  all  overawed  by  his  splendid 
military  retinue,  and  who  answered  his  questions  with  a  haughti- 
ness which,  imder  similar  circumstances,  very  few  Europeans 
would  display. 

The  condition  of  the  Arab  females  is  by  no  means  so  unhappy 
as  is  generally  believed  in  the  West.  They  have  to  do  the  house- 
hold work,  but  the  harder  toil  of  agriculture  is  entirely  the  busi- 
ness of  the  men.     It  is  true  that  the  kindness. of  their  husbands 


THE  ARABS.  141 

is  rarely  great,  or,  at  least,  that  it  is  not  very  tender;  but  ill- 
treatment  is  rare,  and  when  severe  bodily  harm  is  inflicted,  it  is 
punished  by  fines  or  divorce.  The  Koran  allows  the  believers 
to  marry  four  legitimate  wives,  but  very  few  avail  themselves  of 
this  permission.  The  great  majority — among  whom  is  the  Emir 
Abd-el-Kader — are  satisfied  with  one  wife.  Much  has  been  said 
about  the  jealousy  of  the  Arabs,  but  commonly  it  has  been  exag- 
gerated. AVhen  I  visited  the  encampments  the  Arab  females  came 
into  the  tent  without  restraint,  and  often  took  part  in  the  conver- 
sation. Many  of  them,  old  and  young,  go  to  the  fairs  in  the 
cities.  In  the  encampments,  I  remarked  that  the  male  members 
of  the  family  keep  strictly  their  precedence  before  the  females  on 
some  occasions ;  for  instance,  at  meals.  The  kuskusu  dish  is 
placed  before  the  guest  first;  after  him  it  is  the  father,  son,  or 
kinsman,  who  sits  down  to  the  meal;  and  when  they  have  all  done, 
then  comes  the  turn  of  the  wife  and  daughters,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  only  allowed  to  look  on  the  dinner-party  from  a  dis- 
tance. The  young  Arabs  do  not  generally  display  great  respect 
towards  their  mothers ;  they  treat  them  with  indifference,  and 
sometimes  even  slightingly,  whilst  they  cling  to  their  fathers  with 
the  greatest  affection,  and  never  forget  to  show  their  reverence  for 
them.  The  Arab  girls  marry  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen ; 
many  are  grandmothers  at  thirty ;  and  as  they  generally  attain  as 
advanced  an  age  as  European  females,  they  often  see  many  of 
their  generations. 

All  the  travellers  who  have  visited  Arabia  say  much  about  the 
hospitable  character  of  her  inhabitants ;  this  is,  indeed,  the  renowned 
virtue  of  the  Arabs,  but  is  chiefly  exercised  towards  their  country- 
men and  co-religionists.  Foreigners,  and  those  especially  of  a  dif- 
ferent religion,  who  have  no  previous  acquaintance  in  the  encamp- 
ment, or  who  are  not  introduced  by  some  friends,  find  generally  but 
an  unwilling  reception,  and  are  often  sent  away  with  rough  words.* 

*  To  the  German,  and  yet  more  to  the  Hungarian  and  Pole,  accustomed  to 
exercise  hospitality  to  everybody,  this  seems  strange  ;  the  English  will  find  that 
the  Arabs  are  right. 


142  THE  ARABS. 

On  my  journey  to  the  interior  of  the  province  of  Oran,  this 
often  happened  to  me,  though  one  of  Abd-el-Kader's  horsemen 
was  my  guide.  But  you  are  welcome  to  the  Arab  if  you  have 
previously  made  his  acquaintance,  or  have  shown  him  some  kind- 
ness in  town ;  he  then  rejoices  to  see  you  again,  entertains  you  as 
well  as  he  can,  and  visits  you  in  town,  to  become  there  your 
guest.  Yet,  even  to  friends  and  acquaintances,  the  hospitality 
is  not  unlimited.  Though  the  Arab  does  not  require  money  for 
the  treat,  yet  if  you  part  without  leaving  a  present,  he  does  not 
like  it.  As  often  as  on  my  hunting  excursions  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Algiers,  I  visited  my  friends  Mustapha  Ben-Jana,  or 
Ali  Ben  Suati,  the  Sheikhs  of  the  Aribes,  I  had  always  to  share 
my  powder  with  them,  and  their  children  continually  crowded 
around  me,  begging  small  coin  from  me.  In  December  1836  I 
was  invited  to  attend  a  wedding  in  that  tribe.  Guests  had  come 
from  far  and  near,  and  among  them  several  Frenchmen  from 
Algiers.  The  kuskusu  was  choice,  and  mingled  with  raisins; 
sheep  were  killed,  the  coffee  was  boiled  in  large  cauldrons,  and  the 
drum  and  guitar  sounded  day  and  night,  accompanied  by  the  shrill 
cadences  of  the  females.  The  wedding-feast  fell  just  on  the  23d 
and  24th  of  December.  I  wished  to  give  an  idea  of  the  pleasures 
of  Christmas  Eve  to  the  Arab  children,  and  had  therefore  bought 
a  lot  of  toys  from  a  German  shop-keeper  in  Algiers.  As  dusk  set 
in,  the  Arabs  had  to  leave  the  tent  prepared  for  the  Christian 
guests.  We  lighted  many  wax  tapers,  and  displayed  the  toys  on 
the  ground.  The  children  of  the  encampment  waited  outside  with 
curiosity.  I  gathered  them  around  me,  and  tried  to  give  them 
some  idea  of  the  Christmas  feast.  I  told  them  that  Aissa  (Jesus), 
whom  even  the  Koran  calls  a  prophet,  had  come  to  the  world 
many  many  years  back,  on  that  same  day,  and  that  in  remem- 
brance of  the  event  the  good  children  of  the  Rummi  always  get 
the  most  splendid  presents.  To-day  the  same  was  to  happen  to 
them,  the  little  Mussulmans.  At  that  time  I  could  scarcely  speak 
a  single  Arab  word,  and  the  interpreter  whom  I  employed  for 
explaining  the  mysteries  of  Christmas  Eve  to  the  Mohammedan 


THE  ARABS.  143 

children  was,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  a  Jew.  But  not  a  single 
ray  of  those  delightful  feelings  which  occupy  with  us  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  children  before  they  are  admitted  to  the  glorious 
Christmas  presents,  and  to  the  adorned  resplendent  tree,  seemed 
to  enter  the  minds  of  the  little  Arabs.  They  looked  at  me  with 
comic  amazement,  and  in  their  features  I  could  only  see  that  they 
thoroughly  understood  that  they  had  something  to  get,  but  that 
they  could  not  understand  why  they  had  to  wait  so  long,  and  why 
I  told  them  first  the  history  of  Aissa  before  they  were  to  see 
what  was  put  in  the  tent  for  them.  And  scarcely  were  they  ad- 
mitted when  they  began  to  quarrel  for  the  wooden  swords  and 
penny  trumpets,  though  I  had  put  the  share  of  every  child  in  a 
separate  lot ;  and  as  soon  as  they  got  hold  of  something,  they  ran 
away  to  save  it.  I  saw  that  the  happiness  of  the  evening  of  the  24th 
December,  could  not  be  transplanted  to  foreign  nations  without  the 
Christian  religion..  Though  the  boys  had  their  natural  delight 
in  the  little  swords,  and  the  girls  in  the  glass  beads,  yet  it  was 
unattended  by  poetical  charms. 

This  episodical  account  of  my  stay  with  the  Arabs  finds  a  place 
here  only  on  account  of  its  conclusion.  After  I  had  made  trifling 
presents  to  all  the  children  of  the  encampment,  I  gave  two  Spanish 
dollars  as  my  contribution  to  the  feast;  to  the  father  of  the  bride- 
groom who  had  invited  me,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  be  satisfied. 
The  children  ran  after  me  and  shouted,  '•'•Aattni  sordi,  sordi  (give 
me  a  penny,  a  penny),  and  when  at  last  I  unpacked  my  trunk  in 
Algiers,  I  found  that  nearly  half  of  my  luggage  had  been  stolen  by 
my  hospitable  hosts.  At  other  places,  for  instance,  amongst  the 
Garrabas  in  the  province  of  Oran,  I  had  to  distribute  all  my 
tobacco  before  my  tent  was  pitched.  But  with  other  tribes  in  the 
province  of  Constantine,  I  really  sometimes  found  a  hearty  hospi- 
tality, and  even  made  the  experience,  that  my  host  refused  to  ac- 
cept money.  On  the  whole,  the  Arabs  are  most  kind  and  amiable 
with  those  Christian  visitors,  with  whom  they  were  previously 
acquainted.  They  lead  the  guest  with  dignity  to  the  place  of 
honour,  which  is  covered  with   sheep- skins  or  carpets.     Before 


144  THE  ARABS. 

dinner,  they  endeavour  to  entertain  hira  with  their  conversation. 
The  kuskusu  is  then  served  on  a  large  wooden  dish ;  on  it  there 
lies  a  square  piece  of  butter,  which  is  mixed  with  the  kuskusu, 
and  eaten  with  wooden  spoons.  From  time  to  time,  fresh  milk  is 
handed  to  the  guest  during  the  meal ;  at  last  a  roast  chicken, 
carved  in  pieces,  is  brought  into  the  tent,  but  the  Arab  does  not 
touch  a  single  bit  until  his  guest  has  finished  his  meal. 

Respect  for  the  dead  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  virtues  of  the 
Arab  people,  but  it  is  common  to  all  the  Mohammedan  nations. 
From  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  Circassian  war  with  the  Russians, 
we  may  hear  of  nearly  the  same  feats  as  happen  at  every  en- 
counter between  French  and  Arabs.  The  latter  always  make 
the  greatest  efforts  to  save  their  dead  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
and  many  of  them  become  the  victims  of  such  efforts.  It  was 
often  seen  that  Arab  horsemen  galloped  off  with  one  or  two 
corpses  on  their  horses,  and  did  not  drop  them  even  when  the 
French  chasseurs  were  on  their  heels ;  or  if  the  dead  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  French,  the  Arabs  never  failed  to  re-appear 
on  the  battlefield,  in  order  to  get  possession,  if  possible,  of  the  re- 
mains of  their  countrymen.  They  carefully  bury  them,  and  cover 
the  resting-place  with  broad  slabs  or  masonry,  that  the  wild 
beasts  may  not  dig  them  up.  The  careless  manner  in  which  the 
French  bury  their  dead  contrasts  much  to  their  disadvantage 
with  the  pious  respect  paid  by  the  barbarians  to  the  corpses  of  their 
beloved.  The  French  throw  their  killed  soldiers  into  the  next 
ditch  or  trench,  and  cover  it  so  superficially,  that  the  jackals  and 
hyenas  gather  around  in  crowds  at  night  to  feast  upon  them. 
Wherever  Arab  laws  are  in  force,  the  violator  of  the  grave  is 
punished  by  death.  The  Arabs  generally  select  the  finest  scenery 
of  the  neighbourhood  for  their  cemeteries;  they  plant  them  with 
palms,  and  build  a  small  white  temple  over  the  grave  of  a  Mara- 
but,  around  which  the  other  tombs  are  grouped. 

The  sober  and  frugal  habits  of  that  people,  also  an  unchanged 
feature  of  their  ancestors,  is  a  great  hindrance  in  the  way  of  civi- 
lization; it  makes  their  improvement  as  difficult  as  their  expul- 


THE  ARABS.  145 

sion  or  destruction.*  The  North  American  red  men  were  defeated 
and  driven  from  the  country  of  their  fathers  by  the  "  fire-water ; " 
wherever  those  savages  tasted  spirits,  they  were-enslaved  by 
them,  and  lost  both  energy  and  freedom.  But  such  means  are  of 
no  avail  with  the  Arabs :  when  invited  to  the  table  of  Christians, 
they  take  with  pleasure  a  glass  of  wine  or  brandy,  in  spite  of  the 
Koran ;  but  they  never  become  drunkards ;  they  never  spend  a 
penny  for  inebriating  drinks ;  they  take  them  only  when  they  are 
asked  to  do  it  by  their  hosts.  Spirits  never  become  necessities  with 
them,  and  all  the  remembrance  of  the  merriment  caused  by  wine 
is  not  able  to  wrest  out  a  boojoo  from  their  pocket.  I  never  saw 
a  drunken  Arab  during  all  my  stay  in  Africa.  Only  milk  and 
water  are  tasted  in  the  encampments,  and  yet  this  people  is  not  infe- 
rior to  any  other,  either  in  bodily  strength  or  mental  energy. 
Satisfied  with  kuskusu,  unleavened  bread,  and  a  few  fruits  for  his 
food,  the  Arab  is  capable  even  of  yet  greater  abstinence.  The 
army  of  Abd-el-Kader,  before  Ain  Maadi,  for  months  lived  on 
nothing  but  boiled  corn.  Very  few,  if  any,  beasts  of  burden  follow 
the  Arab  army  with  provisions,  for  every  horseman  carries  a  few 
loaves  of  bread  and  a  little  bag  of  flour  on  his  horse,  which  suf- 
fices, in  case  of  need,  for  weeks;  and  if  his  provender  begins  to  fail, 
a  few  roots  of  the  dwarf-palm,  or  some  cactus  figs,  keep  him  in 
good  strength  and  spirits. 

But  frugal  as  the  Bedouins  are,  their  covetousness  and  avarice 
are  unmeasured.  They  sell  the  products  of  their  soil  and  cattle 
yearly  for  about  four  to  five  millions  of  francs,  and  do  not  expend 
the  tenth  part  of  that  sum  for  European  commodities.  Thus 
a  hundred  million  of  francs  at  least,  or  even  more,  have  been 
carried  into  the  interior  since  the  French  occupation,  not  to 
return;  and  as  the  Arab  cannot  hide  his  cash  in  his  tent,  he  buries 
it  in  some  remote  place  in  the  wilderness,  as  a  resort  for  unhappy 
times,  when,  perhaps,  he  may  be  plundered  by  enemies,  or  im- 

*  Is  modem  civilization  really  nothing  but  enervation?     Shall  -we  be  aston- 
ished that  the  Turks  and  Arabs  and  Persians  resist  that  civilizing  influence, 
which  cannot  succeed  without  emasculating  them? 
K 


146  THE  ARABS. 

poverished  in  other  ways.  Yet  it  is  rarely  that  he  digs  his  treasures 
up ;  his  property,  his  cattle,  and  fields,  being  either  easily  move- 
able, or  difficult  to  destroy,  he  seldom  falls  into  difficulties,  and, 
as  long  as  he  is  not  in  the  greatest  need,  does  not  touch  his 
piastres  and  boojoos.  Nearly  all  this  sum  is,  therefore,  lost  to 
circulation,  and  a  part  of  it  never  sees  daylight  again ;  because  the 
jealous  character  of  the  people  often  induces  them  to  conceal  the 
hiding-place  of  the  treasure  even  from  their  nearest  relatives ;  and 
many  an  Arab  divests  his  own  son  of  the  inheritance  by  a  silent 
death.  The  love  of  money,  however,  has  always  been  a  strong 
inducement  to  the  Arabs  to  maintain  peace,  and  has  proved  the 
most  efficient  lever  for  counteracting  fanaticism.  The  desire  of 
exchanging  the  surplus  of  their  cattle  and  corn  for  hard  cash,  soon 
got  the  upper  hand  with  the  tribes  at  every  outbreak  of  hostilities, 
and  subdued  their  hatred  so  far,  that  they  repeatedly  renewed  their 
clandestine  trade  with  the  French,  even  against  the  orders  of  their 
chiefs.  The  Marabuts,  likewise,  by  no  means  disdain  cash ;  so  that 
a  clever  management  can  easily  break  the  hatred  of  many  of  those 
influential  saints,  and  bribe  them  into  partiality  for  the  French. 
Yet  the  interests  of  their  religion  generally  prevail  with  the  majo- 
rity of  true  Marabuts,  whilst  the  most  of  the  secular  chiefs  are 
more  easily  won.  The  Consul  Daumas,  who  had  an  opportunity 
of  studying  profoundly  the  character  of  the  Arabs  during  his  stay 
at  Mascara,  was  right  when  he  made  the  proposition  to  the  govern- 
ment of  Algeria,  of  employing  yearly  100,000  francs  in  bribes 
to  the  most  influential  chiefs  of  Abd-el-Kader.  He  expected 
from  such  a  measure  better  guarantees  for  the  peace,  necessary 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  growing  colony,  and  better  results  for 
all  the  schemes  of  the  French,  than  from  a  warlike  expedition 
with  10,000  men. 

In  spite  of  this  inveterate  greediness  for  money,  charity  for  un- 
fortunate and  infirm  people  is  a  prominent  feature  in  the  character  of 
the  Arab.  The  numerous  blind  men  who  appeal  to  the  commisera- 
tion of  the  believers  at  the  fairs,  and  before  the  gates  of  the  towns, 
generally  receive  copious  alms.   Greater  liberality  yet  is  exercised 


THE  ARABS.  147 

to  the  lunatics,  amongst  whom  swindlers  are  sometimes  found,  who 
calculate  upon  the  credulity  of  their  charitable  countrymen,  and 
feign  madness  in  order  to  be  fed  by  the  public.  I  saw  such 
an  individual  in  the  market-place  of  Bona,  who,  with  staring 
eyes  and  strong  gesticulation,  spoke  nonsense,  whilst  copper- 
money  was  poured  from  all  sides  into  his  cowl.  Such  paroxysms 
of  benevolence  are  strange  amongst  an  avaricious  and  rapacious 
people ;  and  this  mixture  of  the  most  opposite  qualities  with  the 
Arabs  perplexes  the  most  acute  observers,  and  gives  occasion  for 
the  contradictory  statements  made  by  persons  who  have  come  into 
contact  with  that  people. 

Just  as  strange  as  the  mixture  of  covetousness  and  charity 
among  the  Arabs,  is  the  general  sobriety  and  frugality  of  the  people, 
which  is  combined  with  great  sexual  excesses.  Abd-el-Kader  is 
one  of  the  few  chiefs  who,  in  this  respect,  are  irreproachable. 

In  the  war  against  the  French,  the  Arabs  often  behaved  with 
great  cruelty.  At  the  beginning  the  French  prisoners  were  first 
ill-treated,  and  then  beheaded ;  it  was  only  later  that  the  natives 
learned  to  spare  captives  and  to  exchange  prisoners.  The  corpses 
of  fallen  enemies  were  mutilated  by  the  natives.  At  the  first 
encounters,  these  outrages  were  perpetrated  by  order  of  the  Dey. 
The  exasperation  which  soon  took  place  on  both  sides  gave  the 
most  revolting  and  savage  features  to  the  war,  which  were  discon- 
tinued only  from  the  time  of  the  battle  on  the  Sikak,  where 
Bugeaud  treated  the  prisoners  with  forbearance.  The  peace 
which  had  been  formally  concluded  by  a  treaty  of  the  two 
belligerent  parties,  was  on  the  whole  well  respected,  though 
many  murders  and  other  outrages  were  committed  on  individuals. 
After  the  treaty  of  the  Tafna,  we  could  travel  with  full  security 
through  the  interior  of  the  province  of  Oran  in  company  of  a  single 
horseman  of  Abd-el-Kader.  I  made  the  journey  from  Arzew  to 
Oran,  accompanied  by  a  Bedouin  whom  I  did  not  know.  He 
belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  Garrabas,  and  had  offered  himself  as 
guide.  It  would  have  been  easy  for  him  to  plunder  and  to  slay 
me  in  the  wilderness,  but  I  had  no  reason  to  complain.     The  same 


148  THE  ARABS. 

tribes  whicb,  during  war,  were  most  signalized  for  blood-thirsty 
outrages,  such  as  the  Hajutes  and  Garrabas,  treated  travelling 
Frenchmen,  after  peace  had  been  concluded,  in  a  hospitable 
manner.  Examples  of  treachery,  however — as,  for  instance,  the 
breach  of  the  treaty  of  the  Tafna  by  a  murderous  foray — likewise 
occurred.  Some  tribes  which  had  subjected  themselves  to  the 
French  deserted  at  the  first  opportunity ;  but  others — as,  for  in- 
stance, the  Duairs  and  Zmelas — manifested  the  most  exemplary 
faith  and  honesty,  and  fought  as  bravely  for  the  French  as  if  they 
had  contended  for  their  own  people  and  religion. 

It  is  difficult  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  character  of  the  African 
Arab  from  the  above-mentioned  principal  features,  so  full  of  con- 
trasts ;  yet  all  those  features  are  true,  and  the  contradiction  arises 
from  the  character  of  that  people,  endowed  by  nature  and  by 
religion  with  many  virtues,  which  hardly  seem  to  be  reconcilable 
with  other  barbarous  vices  common  among  them.  It  is  indeed  dif- 
ficult to  form  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  Arabs.  I  knew 
in  Algeria  eminent  men,  acute  observers,  who  had  long  been 'in 
the  habit  of  dealing  with  the  Arabs,  and  who  openly  acknowledged 
that  they  could  not  pass  a  decided  judgment  on  this  remarkable 
race,  from  the  fact  that  they  often  changed  their  opinions ;  and, 
occasionally,  when  excited  by  some  savage  outrage,  had  condemned 
it  unconditionally ;  but  then,  after  calm  consideration,  and  inquir- 
ing into  the  motives  and  circumstances  from  which  sprang  those 
bloody  outrages,  their  opinions  had  again  become  mitigated. 

We  meet  with  the  same  diversity  of  views  about  the  Arabs,  alike 
in  ancient  and  in  modern  authors.  Pellissier  and  G  ent  have  exag- 
gerated their  good  qualities,  just  asPoiret  andRozet  have  blackened 
them.  The  truth  lies  between  the  two  extremes.  The  Arabs, 
though  isolated  among  the  nations  on  earth  by  their  manners  and 
customs,  resemble  them  in  so  far,  that  they  are  neither  entirely 
good  nor  entirely  bad.  But  the  diversity  of  opinions  about  them 
is  principally  due  to  the  circumstance,  that  both  their  \artues  and 
their  vices  are  different  from  those  of  the  European  nations  :  thus 
the  observer  is  without  a  true  standard  by  which  to  judge  them. 


THE  ARABS.  149 

On  the  whole,  it  would  be  unfair  to  give  too  much  credit  to  all  the 
charges  of  the  European  colonists  of  Algiers,  who  see  the  principal 
obstacle  to  the  progress  of  colonization  in  the  character  of  that  most 
powerful  and  energetic  race  of  Barbary.  Pellissier,  speaking  of  the 
terrible  instances  of  blood-thirsty  cruelty  since  1830,  asks  very  per- 
tinently, in  his  "  Annales  Algeriennes :"  "And  have  we,  French, 
always  given  lessons  of  humanity  to  the  Arabs?"  And  really, 
the  slaughter  at  Belida,  in  1831,  when  Ben  Zamun  besieged  the 
French  garrison,  and  many  inoffensive  inhabitants,  old  men  and 
women  among  them,  were  slain  in  the  streets — the  destruction  of 
the  tribe  El-Uffia,  where  even  the  children  found  no  pity — the 
execution  of  the  Sheikhs  Messaud  and  El-Arbi,  who  came  to 
Algiers  trusting  to  the  written  promise  of  a  safe  conduct — are 
such  sanguinary  deeds  committed  by  the  French,  that  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  if  the  Arabs,  fighting  for  their  country  and  their 
independence,  believed  themselves  not  to  be  bound  to  keep  faith 
with  the  intruders,  and  took  terrible  reprisals.  I  fully  concur  in 
the  observation  of  Pellissier  when  he  says :  "  Let  us  be  convinced 
that  cruelty  in  war  is  not  foreign  to  any  race,  and  that  the  most 
civilized  nations  are,  in  this  respect,  often  more  barbarous  than  the 
savages."* 

It  has  been  asked  whether  it  will  be  possible  to  civilize  the 

*  Is  it  not  a  sad  spectacle  that  this  same  Pellissier,  the  humane  advocate  of 
the  Arabs,  became,  in  1848,  guilty  of  the  most  revolting  cruelty  recorded  in  the 
annals  of  Algeria  ?  A  Kabyle  mountain-tribe,  which  had  often  broken  faith  with 
the  French,  and  had  pounced  upon  them  from  the  fastnesses  of  the  Atlas,  was 
pursued  by  General  Pellissier  into  their  recesses.  They  retired,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  into  a  large  mountain-cave,  and  defended  its  entrance  with  un- 
daunted courage,  well  aware  that  their  enemies  could  not  remain  long  among 
the  inhospitable  rocks  of  the  Atlas.  The  French  were  unable  to  force  the  mouth 
of  the  cave ;  Pellissier  therefore  ordered  heaps  of  straw  and  brushwood  to  be 
brought  before  the  entrance,  and  threatened  the  Kabyles,  in  case  they  should  not 
surrender,  to  set  it  on  fire.  They  did  iK)t  submit.  The  general  now  carried  the 
threat  into  effect ;  the  straw  was  lighted,  the  smoke  was  blown  by  the  wind  into 
the  cavern,  and  the  French  expected  that  the  Kabyles  would  now  soon  come  out 
and  surrender.  They  waited  in  vain.  Their  "  point  d'honneur  "  proved  stronger 
than  their  humanity ;  the  fire  was  increased  ;  and  all  the  tribe,  nearly  400  per- 
sons, women  and  children  included,  perished  in  the  cavern,  suffocated  by  smoke. 
The  Kabyles  preferred  death  to  the  loss  of  independence,  as  Pellissier  preferred 
the  wholesale  murder  of  a  tribe  to  his  return  into  the  plain  without  having 
broken  the  spirit  of  the  enemy. 


150    ■  THE  ARABS. 

Arabs ;  that  is  to  say,  to  induce  them  to  give  up  their  roving 
shepherd  life  under  the  tent,  and  to  accustom  them  to  fixed  man- 
sions, to  industry,  and  to  property  according  to  our  notions.  I 
think  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  this  can  be  effected;  in  any  case 
more  than  a  century  is  required  for  it.  Their  intercourse  with 
the  French  since  1830  has  not  brought  about  any  change  in  their 
manner  of  life.  General  Bugeaud  tried  to  colonize  the  tribes 
allied  with  France  in  fixed  villages.  He  gave  them  all  the  build- 
ing material,  and  the  sappers  and  miners  began  to  erect  houses 
for  them.  But  the  half-built  cottages  were  soon  deserted  by  the 
Arabs,  and  had  they  not  been  forced  by  General  Bugeaud  to 
remain,  the  majority  would  have  rather  gone  over  to  Abd-el- 
Kader,  than  have  become  fixed  to  the  soil.  The  love  for  an  entirely 
independent  life  is  as  firmly  rooted  in  the  Arab  as  the  belief  in 
Mohammed.  The  comfortable  life  of  the  citizens ;  their  substantial 
houses,  granting  shelter  against  sun  and  rain;  the  furniture  on 
which  they  comfortably  recline;  the  good  fare  they  relish,  the 
good  clothes  they  wear, — all  this  the  Arab  has  seen  for  many 
years ;  but  to  him  it  has  no  peculiar  attraction.  He  could  live 
himself  in  the  same  way  if  he  chose ;  he  is  rich,  he  has  hoards  of 
cash,  and  numerous  herds,  which  he  could  sell ;  he  could  with  the 
money  easily  buy  a  Moorish  house,  good  furniture,  and  splendid 
clothing,  in  any  of  the  cities ;  but  he  likes  better  to  remain  in  the 
wilderness,  to  live  under  the  tent  through  which  the  wind  whistles, 
and  to  wear  the  dirty  bumus,  a  beggarly  attire,  but  comfortable 
to  him  from  habit. 

The  love  of  independence  with  the  Arab  is,  however,  not  so 
great  as  to  induce  him  to  buy  it,  even  at  the  cost  of  complete 
anarchy  and  impunity  of  crimes.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  tribes,  it  was  the  greatest  merit  of  Abd-el-Kader  that  he 
restrained  the  anarchy  which  followed  the  downfal  of  the  domin- 
ion of  the  Dey.  After  the  French  had  taken  Algiers,  they,  at 
first,  did  not  much  care  what  was  going  on  in  the  interior.  The 
Arabs,  happy  to  have  got  rid  of  the  Turks,  committed  all  pos- 
sible deeds  of  licentiousness ;  but  when  the  robberies  and  murders 


THE  ARABS.  151 

increased,  when  they  suffered  from  robbery  as  much  as  they 
gained  by  it,  they  soon  got  tired  of  anarchy,  and  turned,  by 
and  by,  to  the  chief  who  had  the  greatest  influence  to  alter 
this  condition.  Lawlessness  was  suppressed,  but  the  love  of 
independence  remained  unshaken.  The  Arab  is  fond  of  life  in 
the  wilderness,  because,  with  the  exception  of  theft  and  murder, 
he  can  do  there  unmolestedly  what  he  pleases.  This  was  the 
case  even  in  the  time  of  the  domination  of  the  Deys :  police 
regulations  never  were  extended  to  the  encampments.  The  Arab 
can  remain  all  night  at  his  fire;  he  can  hunt  and  shoot  what 
his  heart  desires ;  he  can  drive  his  cattle  and  manage  his  horse 
as  he  pleases ;  no  wall,  no  fence,  no  game-keeper  stops  his  way ; 
no  gendarmes  inquire  for  his  passport,  no  exciseman  inspects  his 
luggage.  He  feels  all  this,  and  therefore  he  raises  his  head 
haughtily,  and  does  not  bow  before  any  prince,  but  only  before  God. 
Besides  this  boundless  liberty,  which  only  a  roving  life  can 
give  to  such  an  extent,  the  dwelling  in  the  wilderness  has  many 
charms  for  the  Bedouin,  reconciling  him  easily  to  forbear  the 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  comforts.  The  wilderness  and  the 
black  tent  are  dear  to  him  as  his  home — tlie  heirloom  of  his 
ancestors.  Arabs  have  founded  splendid  cities,  poetry  and  science 
have  flourished  in  Bagdad,  and  the  shining  luxury  of  the  East 
reigned  in  the  palaces  of  the  Kaliphs.  But  the  immense  majority 
of  the  Arab  nation — the  shepherds  or  Bedouins — did  not  care 
for  this  splendour,  and  continued  their  simple  roving  way  of  life, 
w^hich  was  familiar  to  their  ancestors  for  thousands  of  years 
before  Mohammed,  and  which  they  enjoy  up  to  the  present  day. 
Increasing  knowledge,  and  the  vast  progress  of  human  civiliza- 
tion, has  not  had  the  slightest  effect  on  them ;  and  as  often  as 
I  visited  an  encampment,  and  saw  an  old  Arab  with  withered 
beard,  and  the  expressive  dignified  calmness  and  simplicity  in 
the  wrinkled  features,  sitting  before  the  brown  tent,  and  around 
him  his  browsing  sheep,  his  kneeling  and  standing  camels,  and 
his  females  filling  the  sheep-skin  with  w^ater  at  the  well,  I 
always  fancied  that  I  saw  the  patriarchal  shape  of  Abraham  him- 


152  THE  ARABS. 

self.  The  manner  of  life  of  this  ancestor  of  mankind,  as  trans- 
mitted to  us  in  Genesis,  was  exactly  similar  to  that  of  an  Arab 
chief.  It  is  so  tnie,  that  all  the  great  painters  who  have  repre- 
sented patriarchal  scenes,  according  to  the  description  of  Genesis, 
have  always  painted  real  Arab  life,  though  often  unconsciously. 
For  instance,  in  the  splendid  Parisian  print  which  represents  the 
disowning  of  Hagar  and  her  son  Ishmael,  the  Patriarch  looks  pre- 
cisely like  the  above-mentioned  Sheikh  of  the  Garrabas,  who  stole 
the  tobacco  from  my  trunk  on  my  journey  to  Mascara. 

There  was  among  the  European  colonists  of  Algeria  many  an 
eccentric  youth  who  fell  in  love  with  the  life  of  the  Arabs  before 
he  had  tried  it — who  dreamt  of  the  happiness  which  might  be 
found  in  a  careless  existence  with  boundless  freedom — galloping 
through  the  Desert  on  the  fiery  steed,  as  the  unlimited  lord  of  the 
country — hunting  the  lion  and  the  ostrich,  and  diving  with  his 
steed  into  the  wild  and  outstretching  wilderness.  There  were 
.several  young  adventurers  with  whom  such  ideas  became  so 
powerful,  that  they  really  went  to  the  interior,  leaving  European 
life  behind  them,  and  accepting  Islam.*  It  was  an  important 
step  even  for  thoughtless  Frenchmen,  since,  once  Moslems,  they 
could  no  more  enjoy  intercourse  with  their  former  countrymen ; 
they  could  no  more  participate  in  the  industrious  movement  of 
European  countries ;  nor  more  learn  what  was  happening  on  the 
continent  of  civilization ;  they  dared  not  read  anything  else  than 
the  Koran ;  and  did  not  hear  any  more  the  sounds  of  their 
northern  tongue.  They  had  entered  a  foreign  world :  it  was  rather 
a  high  price  for  the  barbarian  title.  I  have  seen  some  of  these 
renegadoes, — a  few  in  the  capital  of  Abd-el-Kader,  others  after 
their  return  to  their  countrymen.  All  of  them  had  bitterly  re- 
pented that  step :  a  dreadful  awakening  immediately  followed 
their  dream  I  They  had  not  considered  that  the  first  condition 
for  enjoying  the  happiness  of  Arab  life  was  to  be  endowed  with 
the  virtues  of  that  people ;  that  all  the  hardening  and  temper  of 

*  Islavi,  means  in  Arabic,  salvation. 


THE  ARABS.  153 

the  Bedouin  is  necessary  to  make  his  life  pleasant,  and  not  full  of 
pain  and  tediousness.  Yet  I  believe  that  among  the  nations  of 
Barbary  the  Arabs  are  the  most  happy.  They  are  not  poor, 
nor  forced  to  endure  great  privations ;  they  do  not  live  in  such 
anarchy  as  the  Kabyles  ;  they  are  not  indolent  and  dull,  like 
the  Moors,  but  are  full  of  energy  and  imagination.  Yet  I  do 
not  belong  to  those  who  exalt  the  happiness  of  the  Arabs,  and 
think  the  lot  of  a  mighty  Emir,  or  a  celebrated  Marabut,  more 
enviable  than  that  of  a  European  who  owes  his  pleasures  to  civili- 
zation. The  Bedouin  life  has  many  attractive  and  charming 
features  ;  but  it  is  required  to  be  born  to  it,  as  to  poetry.  Among 
the  renegadoes  in  Mascara,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  young 

German  of  education,  the  Baron  0 ,  who  was  led  to  join  the 

Bedouins  by  his  adventurous  turn  of  mind.  He  was  an  interesting 
young  man,  of  handsome  features,  and  high  in  favour  with  the  Kha- 
lipha  Mustapha  Ben  Thany.  He  accompanied  him  frequently  in 
expeditions  through  the  country,  and  was  treated  with  greater  kind- 
ness than  any  other  renegade.  But  in  a  very  few  weeks  he  got  tired 
of  the  happiness  of  the  Arabs,  and  would  have  preferred  to  read  its 
description  in  novels  and  poetry,  rather  than  to  taste  of  it  in  reality. 
His  body,  effeminated  by  European  culture,  was  not  fit  for  a  rougher 
manner  of  life.  He  soon  disliked  dwelling  in  tents,  and  the  kuskusu- 
meal,  and  the  fatiguing  rides,  which  were  a  sport  for  the  Arabs. 
He  could  not  like  the  Desert,  either  as  his  home  or  his  realm,  as 
the  Arab  did :  in  vain  he  strove  to  gain  inspiration  at  the  view 
of  the  boundless  wilderness  and  its  ever-starlit  canopy:  he 
struggled  fruitlessly  for  a  spark  of  devotion  in  his  daily  thrice- 
repeated  prayers  :  he  acted  the  comedian  :  he  threw  himself 
down  on  his  face,  like  the  other  Arabs,  when  the  sun  began  to  set 
in  the  west,  and  muttered  the  formulas  of  prayer  after  them,  but 
with  a  hopeless  emptiness  in  his  soul,  and  with  perpetual  remorse 
of  conscience  that  he  was  playing  an  infamous  jugglery  with  God 
and  with  himself.  Faith  and  inspiration  did  not  come,  and  the 
unhappy  fool  who,  in  the  nomade  life,  had  expected  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  Arabian  tales  which  had  filled  his  imagination  in 


154  THE  ARABS. 

early  youth,  found  now  his  only  consolation  in  tears.  But  even 
this  comfort  was  not  granted  to  him,  except  when  his  comrades 
had  fallen  to  sleep.  To  them  he  could  not  disclose  his  feelings 
without  danger,  except  when  the  howling  of  the  hyenas  drowned 
his  nightly  sighs,  and  but  the  dumb  stars  above  saw  the  confes- 
sion of  his  tears.  The  life  of  the  Arabs  has  many  and  mighty 
charms,  but  nobody  should  envy  it  who  has  not  himself  become  a 
Bedouin;  and  to  become  such,  a  body  of  iron  is  required,  and  a  soul 
of  fire. 

In  the  immense  steppes  belonging  to  the  Angads  in  the  Kobla, 
in  the  Belid-el- Jerid,  where  there  grow  but  few  trees  and  a  scanty 
grass,  the  most  interesting  and  most  energetic  tribes  of  this  race 
rove  over  the  plain.  The  Angads  must  often  make  long  marches 
to  find  a  second  green  spot  for  the  pasture  of  their  cattle ;  and  in- 
stead of  wood,  which  is  deficient  in  that  region,  they  burn  the  dried 
dung  of  the  camel.  In  summer,  everything  is  parched  by  the 
heat ;  in  winter,  the  pouring  rains  often  turn  the  Desert  into  a 
sea.  All  this  inconvenience  is  unheeded  by  the  Bedouin.  He 
could  easily  proceed  to  the  coast,  where  he  would  find  a  green 
country,  and  more  than  sufficient  ground  for  the  pasture  of  his 
herds,  but  he  prefers  to  remain  in  his  wilderness.  It  has  been 
his  cradle,  and  the  scene  of  the  sports  of  his  childhood ;  it  is  now 
his  realm,  which  he  has  conquered  as  a  roving  nomade,  and  where 
he  does  not  acknowledge  anybody  above  him  but  God.  To  their 
twentieth  year,  the  nomade  Arabs  remain  real  children  in  their 
temper  and  their  moral  development.  They  laugh  much  and 
heartily,  and  enjoy  themselves  in  many  plays  until  late  at  night. 
I  often  saw  this  in  the  encampments,  and  in  the  camp  of  the 
Khalipha  Mustapha  Ben  Thany,  where  scenes  of  the  wilderness, 
or  from  the  Arabian  tales,  were  performed  up  to  midnight ;  and 
the  young  warriors  sang,  made  music,  and  danced,  or  wasted 
their  time  in  engaging  merriment.  There  are  poets  among 
them  who  sing  of  exploits  and  adventures  in  love  and  war. 
These  are  their  chief  themes.  There  is  not  one  encampment, 
even  if  it    is  formed  only  of  a  few  tents,   which   is  not   the 


THE  ARABS.  155 

scene  of  love  intrigues ;  and  there  is  no  Arab  of  fourteen  who 
has  not  already  discharged  his  musket  at  the  enemy.  No 
nation  on  earth  is  so  passionately  fond  of  the  noise  of  powder. 
Whoever  has  watched  the  Arab  in  the  fight — how  his  eyes 
sparkle — how  his  imposing  person  rises  erect  on  the  saddle  of  the 
war-horse  with  barbarous  majesty — how  the  fiery  battle- inspira- 
tion shines  forth  from  every  feature  of  his  expressive  countenance 
— how  his  battle-cry  or  his  songs,  which  praise  the  whistling  of 
the  bullets  as  his  dearest  music,  resound  over  the  plain, — who- 
ever, indeed,  has  observed  the  demeanour  of  the  Arab  in  the  field, 
will  be  convinced  that  this  is  a  people  born  to  war,  and  that 
a  great  man,  combining  the  qualities  of  a  good  warrior  with  those 
of  a  prophet,  might  yet  perform  great  deeds  with  the  Arab  people. 
Two  men  of  our  own  age  have  proved  this  in  some  respect, — 
Mehemet  Ali  and  Abd-el-Kader. 

The  love  of  independence  is  a  characteristic  feature  with  the 
Arabs  in  every  time  of  life ;  fondness  for  war  and  adventure  is 
more  an  attribute  of  youth.  With  increasing  years,  the  Arab 
becomes  more  taciturn  and  contemplative.  About  his  thirtieth 
year,  he  commonly  performs  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  when 
he  returns  from  thence,  his  behaviour  is  entirely  changed.  The 
fondness  for  plays,  dances,  and  songs,  has  left  him  ;  he  finds  it 
more  amusing  to  see  the  sports  of  youth,  and  to  remember  the  en- 
joyment of  his  earlier  years,  than  to  join  in  them.  Contemplation 
and  tales  begin  to  have  peculiar  charms  for  him ;  the  silence  and 
monotony  of  the  Desert  give  free  scope  to  his  imagination  ; — there 
is  nothing  to  disturb  the  raptures  of  the  dreamer,  since  the  stars 
above,  twinkling  like  the  eyes  of  fairies,  and  the  sometimes  rustling 
wind,  which  tells  to  the  sand  of  the  Desert  tales  of  distant  countries, 
seem  to  him  only  the  glances  and  the  voice  of  the  spirits  of  his 
tales  :  they  fill  the  pauses  of  the  story-teller,  and  lull  the  listener 
gently  into  a  yet  more  cheerful  dream.  The  impressions  which 
the  Arab  gets  from  his  tales  remain  lasting  with  him.  They  re- 
appear to  him  in  their  brightest  lustre  when,  reclining  under 
the  palm-tree,  or  sitting  on  a  ruin,  he  watches  the  browsing  herd ; 


156  THE  ARABS. 

or  when  he  is  galloping  on  his  steed  through  the  Desert,  and  hears 
from  afar  the  roaring  of  the  lion. 

With  increasing  old  age,  the  Arab  becomes  more  and  more  ad- 
dicted to  contemplation,  and  his  chief  occupation  is  the  reading  of 
the  Koran,  and  prayer.  Though  faith  in  the  reality  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  prophet,  and  in  the  bliss  of  Paradise  to  come,  is  the 
common  property  of  all  the  people, -it  grows  always  more  in- 
tense and  fiery  when  his  beard  becomes  whiter,  and  his  pulse 
slower.  This  faith,  never  troubled  by  a  shadow  of  doubt,  is  that 
blessing  of  the  Arab  which  is  most  envied  by  many  spirited 
but  unbelieving  Frenchmen.  How  many  of  them  would  readily 
sacrifice  a  part  of  their  earthly  property,  could  they  acquire  by 
it  the  unshakeable  conviction  that  their  glazing  eye  will  be 
illumed  by  the  sight  of  a  new  world,  which  the  poetry  of  Mo- 
hammed has  adorned  with  all  the  sensual  charms  coveted  by  the 
highest  desires  of  Eastern  nations  ;  and  which,  even  in  the  West, 
are,  for  some  natures,  not  sufficient  to  fill  the  yearning  of  the  soul! 
The  Arabs,  with  all  uncultivated  nations,  do  not  aspire  be- 
yond the  natural  objects  which  they  can  perceive  w^ith  their 
senses,  and  leave  idealized  goods  and  enjoyments  for  the  future 
world.  The  Oriental,  therefore,  sees  in  Paradise  palm-trees  of 
gold,  and,  perched  on  their  branches,  the  nightingale,  the  queen 
of  song,  whose  plumage  has  become  purple,  and  which  now  sings 
verses  of  the  Koran  instead  of  her  former  unintelligible  warbling. 
Crystal  bells  are  suspended  on  the  golden  palm-trees,  moved  gently 
by  the  breeze  which  proceeds  from  the  throne  of  Allah.  Moreover, 
this  new  world  is  inhabited  by  beautiful  black-eyed  virgins,  so 
pure,  that  a  single  tear  of  their  eyes  would  sweeten  the  ocean. 
The  red  man,  whose  imagination  is  more  simple,  and  whose  de- 
sires are  therefore  more  modest  than  those  of  the  Oriental,  puts 
his  forests  and  hunting-grounds  into  his  heaven,  and  peoples  them 
with  buffaloes  and  elks.  Paradises  of  such  earthly  enjoyments 
cannot  satisfy  the  higher  soaring  spirit  of  a  German.  His  desires 
are  less  dear,  but  he  likes  better  to  have  only  a  surmise  of  the 
blessings  to  come,  than  definite  images  which  cannot  fill  his  soul. 


THE  ARABS.  157 

Such  is  the  difference  in  the  aspirations  of  mankind.  The  earthly- 
happiness  of  the  Arab,  and  his  images  of  Paradise,  do  not  suit  us, 
because  the  direction  of  our  soul  has  always  been  different  from 
that  of  his.  Could  the  French  sceptic,  in  accepting  the  life  of  the 
Arab,  buy  likewise  all  the  simplicity  of  his  mind,  and  all  the 
intensity  of  his  faith,  half  of  the  army  of  Algeria  would  be  ready 
for  the  exchange. 

The  Koran,  with  all  its  contradictions  and  frequent  obscurity, 
is  a  very  pleasing  book  to  its  believers.  The  Arab  scarcely 
knows  that  awful  torturing  feeling,  independent  of  our  will,  which 
we  call  conscience.  The  thief  who  has  robbed  his  friend,  the 
murderer  who  has  shed  the  blood  of  his  brother,  enjoys  the  same 
peaceable  sleep  as  the  most  virtuous  Marabut.  So  at  least  I  was 
told  by  the  renegadoes  who,  like  Moncel  and  Geistinger,  had  lived 
long  among  the  most  notorious  robber-tribes,  the  Hajutes  and 
Garrabas,  and  who  had  committed  with  them  many  such  crimes. 
There  is  not  an  evil-doer  amongst  them  who  would  not  believe 
that  the  divine  mercy  is  greater  than  his  crimes.  On  my  way 
to  Mascara,  my  guide  was  an  old  Arab,  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Garrabas,  who  live  in  the  plain  of  Tlelat,  near  Oran.  They 
boast  that  they,  among  all  the  tribes,  have  slain  the  greatest 
number  of  French;  and,  in  fact,  on  the  Makta,  they  maimed 
and  killed  the  wounded  stragglers  of  Trezel's  ill-fated  army. 
They  are  dreaded  by  all  the  other  tribes,  and  there  are  few  men 
among  them  who  have  not  shed  human  blood ;  and  yet  that  old 
Arab  was  the  most  fervent  devotee  whom  I  ever  met  with.  He 
vaulted  from  his  horse  at  every  grave  of  a  Marabut,  and  threw 
himself  on  his  face,  and  writhed  in  the  dust.  The  features  of 
the  man,  otherwise  hardened  and  repulsive,  showed  at  such 
moments  rather  the  raptures  of  a  saint  than  the  wrath  of  the 
robber.  When  he  mounted  again  and  proceeded  with  us,  he  cast 
a  glance  of  defying  triumph  on  me.  "  I  have  a  pious  faith,"  he 
seemed  to  say,  "  and  a  place  in  Paradise,  whilst  you,  unbeliev- 
ing dogs,  are  to  be  turned  into  dust."  A  good  Christian  has  no 
happy  moment  without  a  pure  CDUScience:  with  the  Mohammedan, 


158  THE  ARABS. 

his  blind  faith  suffices  to  make  a  long  career  of  crimes  support- 
able, and  to  deaden  remorse. 

During  the  later  years  of  his  life,  the  Arab  never  becomes  so 
dull  and  decaying  as  the  old  man  is  with  us.  He  retains  a  cer- 
tain bodily  agility  and  freshness  of  mind  up  to  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  which  then  ensues  rapidly  and  easily.  Though  his 
weary  bones  can  no  longer  support  the  hardships  of  a  campaign, 
yet  there  are  many  instances  in  which,  when  the  lad  (the  holy 
war)  was  preached,  even  old  men  took  the  field,  and  had  the  defi- 
ciencies of  bodily  strength  recruited  by  the  spirit  of  fanaticism. 
At  the  storming  of  Belida,  on  occasion  of  the  first  expedition  to 
Medeah,  the  Frenchmen  saw  many  grey  beards  amongst  the 
storming-party,  and  others,  who  had  not  sufficient  strength, 
inspired  their  followers  by  preaching  and  praying  from  their 
horses.  However,  the  old  man  cannot  endure  long  travels,  as  for 
instance  the  caravan  expeditions  through  the  wilderness.  On 
the  whole,  he  likes  rest;  he  seldom  goes  hunting,  and  limits  his 
rovings  to  a  narrower  district;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is 
little  susceptible  to  the  changes  of  climate.  During  the  nights 
which  I  spent  in  Arab  encampments,  it  was  always  the  old  men 
who  kept  watch  in  the  open  air.  Whilst  the  young  men  slept 
in  the  warm  tents,  the  old  enjoyed  the  moonshiny  night.  On  the 
whole,  the  scenes  of  nature  delight  the  old  men  more  than  the 
young,  and  this  is  intimately  connected  with  the  growing  fervour 
of  their  fanatical  piety.  During  thunder-storms,  when  the  citizens 
hide  themselves  in  their  houses,  we  often  saw  old  Arabs  sitting  on 
a  rock,  or  under  a  withered  palm-tree,  looking  at  the  struggle  of 
the  elements  with  perfect  satisfaction.  When  the  hurricane  shakes 
his  house  of  camel-hair — when  the  pouring  rain  deluges  the  en- 
campment, and  the  peals  of  thunder,  repeated  by  the  ghostly  echo 
of  the  Atlas,  frighten  every  living  creature,  then  the  soul  of  the 
old  Arab  exults  at  the  greatness  of  his  God,  and  his  fervent 
prayer  pours  in  lively  strains  from  his  lips. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  life,  the  Arab  becomes  thoughtful  and 
silent.     He  feels  the  approach  of  death,  for  which  he  yearns  with 


THE  ARABS.  159 

joyful  anxiety,  as  children  with  us  before  Christmas  evening:  and 
he  has  hopes  similar  to  theirs.  Comparatively  few  individuals 
among  this  people  die  from  disease :  with  the  majority,  death  is 
the  sudden  crisis  of  dissolving  weakness — a  stoppage  of  the  circu- 
lation of  blood,  without  painful  agony.  The  dying  man  is  carried 
before  the  tent,  and  laid  down  on  soft  blankets.  The  head  is  sup- 
ported by  a  pillow  of  palm-leaves ;  the  countenance  is  turned  to  the 
east,  in  the  direction  of  the  Kaaba,  and  of  the  tomb  of  the  Prophet. 
Thus  the  Arab  departs  easily,  and  without  a  death- pang;  turning 
his  closing  eye,  full  of  hope,  to  those  worlds  of  light  which  have 
cheered  his  imagination  from  childhood.  The  sons,  grandsons, 
and  other  relations  of  the  dying  man,  assemble  round  him ;  as 
long  as  he  breathes,  they  are  silent;  afterwards  they  break  out 
into  their  mourning  howl;  the  females  utter  their  dismal,  shrill 
yells,  and  the  Marabut  says  the  prayer.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned the  affectionate  reverence  of  the  young  Arabs  for  their 
fathers.  It  is  a  deeply-rooted  feeling,  and  the  sorrow  of  the 
survivors  is  true  and  profound.  The  Arabs  always  select  the 
finest  scenery  in  the  Atlas  mountains  for  their  cemeteries;  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Desert  bury  their  dead  in  those  lovely  little 
oases,  with  bubbling  brooks  and  green  palm-trees,  which  are  so 
frequent  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  Sahara.  Three  simple 
stones,  without  any  ornament  or  inscription,  designate  every 
grave.  The  survivors  sometimes  go  on  pilgrimages  to  those 
places,  kiss  the  tomb- stones,  and  even  shed  tears.  Thus  the  Be- 
douin lies  buried  amidst  his  vast  realm :  his  dust  rests  in  an  ever- 
free  soil :  the  tyrants  of  all  ages  have  never  been  able  to  break  the 
liberty  of  his  wild  country;  and  his  realm  will  remain  unchanged, 
as  it  is  to-day,  till  the  time  when  the  dead  of  the  Desert  are  all 
to  rise! 


160  THE  KABYLES. 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE   KABYLES. 

T,HE  French,  and  even  the  writers  of  official  bulletins  in  the  Moni- 
teuvj  often  mistook  the  Kabyles  for  Arabs,  though  they  are  distinct 
from  them  in  language,  descent,  and  appearance,  and  partly  like- 
wise in  character,  and  in  their  manner  of  life.  But  the  religion, 
the  love  of  independence,  and  the  hatred  of  strangers,  common  to 
both,  form  that  bond  of  amity  between  the  two  nations  which,  in 
the  war  against  the  French,  has  so  often  proved  strong  and  dan- 
gerous, and  which  helped  to  consolidate  Abd-el-Kader's  power. 
His  influence  was  greatly  shaken  after  the  expeditions  against 
Mascara  and  Tlemsan ;  several  of  the  Arab  tribes  forsook  him, 
but  the  Kabyles  on  the  Tafna  declared  for  him,  and  his  power 
was  once  more  re-established. 

The  numerous  tribes  of  the  Kabyles  or  Berbers,  who  inhabit 
the  whole  of  the  coast-mountains  of  Barbary,  from  Morocco  to 
Tripoli,  but  are  thinly  scattered  over  the  interior,  have  different 
names ;  and  the  languages  which  they  speak  vary.  In  Morocco, 
where  they  are  most  numerous,  they  are  called  Amazigh,  or  Shil- 
luk;  in  Algeria  and  Tunis,  Kabaili;  and  the  Tuariks  and  Tibbos, 
in  the  south  of  Tripoli,  are  probably  likewise  Kabyles.  Their 
language  is  called  Kafile,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bujia;  Shauia, 
in  the  interior  of  the  province  Constantine ;  Shilluk,  on  the  Tafna, 
and  in  Eastern  Morocco;  and  Amazigh,  in  the  other  parts  of 
Morocco.  All  those  dialects  belong  to  the  same  mother- tongue, 
which  has  little  affinity  with  the  Arab.  The  Kabyles  of  Algeria 
and  the  Amazighs  of  Morocco  understand  one  another  as  the  Ger- 
man and  Dutch  do,  whilst  both  idioms  are  foreign  to  the  Arabs. 

This  people,  so  little  known,  inhabits  an  immense  territory, 
and  maintained  its  independence  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years,  though  close  to  that  Europe  which  is  so  covetous  of 
land.     The  question  whence  they  originate,  in  the  defect  of  his- 


THE  KABYLES.  161 

torical  evidence,  can  only  be  conjecturally  solved.  The  majority 
of  historians  and  geographers  regard  them  as  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Numidians ;  others,  who  have  heard  of  some  fair- haired 
Kabyle  tribes  in  the  interior,  on  the  high  lands,  took  them  for  the 
descendants  of  the  Vandals.*  It  is,  however,  more  probable  that 
the  Kabyles  of  the  present  day  sprang  from  the  mixture  of  the 
different  nations  which  have  settled  successively  in  Northern 
Africa,  and,  repressed  by  new  and  warlike  intruders,  have  found  ' 
in  the  mountains  a  home  of  freedom.  The  blood  of  Numidians, 
Phoenicians,  and  Vandals,  mingled  when  those  people  sought 
successively  a  refuge  in  the  Atlas,  and  engendered  a  new  nation. 
In  the  Eegency  of  Algeria,  they  are  mostly  of  short  stature,  and 
inferior  in  every  respect  to  the  vigorous,  handsome  Bedouins; 
whilst  the  Amizighs  of  Morocco  are  stout  and  muscular.  The 
Kabyles  living  between  Bujia  and  Bona  are  dark-haired,  and  of 
dirty-yellow  complexion  ;  on  Mount  Auras,  they  are  of  fair  hair 
and  skin ;  so  much  so,  that  Bruce,  who  visited  them  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, was  startled,  and  found  that  they  reminded  him  of  his  Anglo- 
Saxon  countrymen.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Auras  are  probably 
Vandals,  though  they  speak  the  language  of  the  Kabyles ;  f  and 
the  tradition  current  amongst  them,  that  they  are  descendants  of 
Christians — a  tradition  of  which,  as  Bruce  observes,  they  appeared 
rather  proud —  seems  to  confirm  that  opinion.  The  renegade  Bau- 
douin,  who  had  visited  them,  told  me  several  interesting  particu- 
lars about  these  fair-haired  Kabyles,  who  had  received  him 
hospitably.  The  strongest  of  the  fair  tribes  is  called  Niardy. 
They  do  not  shave  their  heads  like  the  other  Kabyles,  but  wear 
long  hair.  The  plateau  of  the  Auras  is  one  of  the  Inost  fertile 
countries  of  Numidia,  and  its  inhabitants  are  all  agriculturists,  a 
peaceable  race,  well  versed  in  mechanical  arts.  They  tattoo  a 
Greek  cross  above  their  eyes,  on  their  forehead.     The  same  custom 

*  The  language  has  nothing  of  Vandal  in  it ;  so  the  infusion  of  Vandal  blood 
cannot  have  been  large. 

f  Procopius   mentions  the  crossing  of  a  portion  of  the   Vandals  with  the 
aboriginal  Africans  as  having  taken  place  before  the  death  of  Valentinian  (de 
Bello  Vand.  i.  5). 
L 


]  62  THE  KA.BYLES. 

is  found  likewise  amongst  other  tribes  of  the  Kabyles,  who  are  dark, 
but  with  them  it  is  practised  only  by  the  females.  They  have 
the  following  tradition  in  this  respect: — "Many,  many  years 
back,  a  fair  and  warlike  people  came  from  the  north,  and  con- 
quered and  plundered  Africa;  but  those  of  the  inhabitants  escaped 
their  fury  who  had  painted  a  cross  on  their  forehead."  This 
popular  account  evidently  refers  to  the  invasion  of  the  Vandals, 
who,  in  the  fifth  century,  had  propagated  Christianity  in  the 
most  remote  wildernesses  of  Northern  Africa.  But  it  is  remark- 
able that  Procopius  mentions  a  fair-haired,  light-coloured  tribe, 
not  on  the  Auras,  but  in  the  wilderness,  far  in  the  interior  of 
Numidia.*  In  spite  of  the  assertion  of  this  author,  that  all  the 
Vandal  population  was  destroyed  by  the  army  of  Belisarius,  and 
that  the  Emperor  Justinian  had,  in  the  year  539,  carried  away 
the  last  remnants,  and  even  the  females,  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  Auras  tribes  are  descendants  of  the  Vandals,  if  we  con- 
sider that  the  extirpation  of  a  whole  people  who  had  swayed 
all  over  Numidia  for  nearly  a  century,  is  difficult,  or  even  impos- 
sible, in  a  thinly- peopled  country,  where  nature  offered  them  so 
many  hiding-places. -j-  Procopius  declares  in  another  place, 
already  quoted,  that  many  Vandals  had  become  mixed  with 
their  barbarous  neighbours.  William  Schimper  mentions  of  the 
Kabyles,  who  worked  in  Algiers  for  daily  wages,  that  he  thought 
he  saw  the  true  image  of  the  Wurtemberg  peasant  in  them.  I 
convinced  myself  of  the  correctness  of  this  observation  in  Reghaia, 
where,  after  the  attack  of  the  Amrauahs,  a  German  workman  and 
a  Kabyle,  both  wounded  and  naked,  lay  on  the  bed.  The  Ger- 
man had  formerly  served  in  the  Foreign  Legion,  and  the  heat 
and  bivouacs  had  burned  his  complexion  so  much,  that  he  could 
not  be  distinguished  from  the  Kabyle.  The  Berber  workmen 
in  Algiers  look  like  sun-burnt  German  peasants  of  Suabia,  who 


*  De  Bello  Vand.  i.  13.  They  are  not  of  dark  skin,  like  the  Moors,  but  white 
in  complexion,  and  the  hair  fair. 

t  The  fair  complexion  of  the  Kabyles  is  only  found  amongst  those  living  on 
the  table-iands ;  it  thus  seems  that  the  climate  is  the  cause  of  that  peculiarity. 


THE  KABYLES.  163 

have  not  washed  for  some  years.  But  their  dark  black  eye, 
of  piercing,  wild  expression,  forms  a  contrast  with  their  vulgar 
boorish  physiognomy.  The  Arabs,  too,  have  remarked  this 
resemblance  of  the  sun-burnt  German  soldiers  of  the  Foreign 
Legion  to  the  Berbers,  and  they  call  them  French  Kabyles. 
Among  the  mountain  tribes  of  Bona  and  Stora,  we  no  longer  see 
those  striking  German  features.  There  they  resemble  more  the 
southern  tribes  of  Europe;  and  an  Italian  resident  of  Bona  thought 
that  if,  instead  of  the  wool-cowl  fastened  with  a  rope  around  their 
head,  they  would  wear  a  hat  in  the  shape  of  ^  p'Ji^iir-loaf,  they 
might  be  taken  for  Calabrians.  The  heterogeneous  origin  of  the 
mountain  people  is  likewise  evident  from  the  formation  of  the 
skull,  the  traditions,  and  the  manners  of  the  Kabyles.  Even 
their  mixture  with  the  Arabs  can  be  traced  in  several  parts 
of  the  country,  especially  in  the  province  of  Constantine.  The 
transition  from  the  Arabs  to  the  Kabyles  is  found  amongst  the 
tribes  which  speak  the  dialect  Shauiah — that  is  to  say,  the  Am- 
rauahs,  Araktas,  and  the  Ulid-abd-el-Nur. 

The  Kabyles  have  been  described  as  a  savage,  warlike,  and 
liberty-loving  people,  by  Shaw  and  other  travellers  in  the  first 
half  of  the  last  century.  But  the  often-repeated  assertion,  that 
they  never  were  subdued,  is  entirely  incon^ect;  or  can,  at  least, 
be  only  applied  to  a  very  few  tribes  who  inhabit  the  most  inac- 
cessible mountain  regions.  The  numerous  ruins  of  Roman  cities, 
camps,  and  fortifications,  all  over  the  country,  even  in  the  most 
remote  wildernesses,  afford  a  lasting  evidence  of  the  complete 
subjugation  of  Numidia  after  the  Jugurthine  War.  We  find  the 
ruins  of  Sava,  Horrea,  and  Mussulubium,  to  the  south  of  Bujia,  in 
the  territory  of  the  most  independent  tribes.  Lambessa,  on  the 
Auras  mountain,  far  in  the  interior,  was  a  city  of  about  three 
hours'  circumference.  Those  numerous  towns  and  fortresses  were 
connected  by  good  roads ;  and  we  do  not  want  even  the  testimony 
of  the  geographers  of  old,  to  show  that  the  Provincia  Africa  of 
the  Romans  was  a  flourishing  and  civilized  state.  The  remains  of 
the  ancient  buildings  afford  sufficient  evidence  in  this  respect. 


164 


THE  KABYLES. 


This  great  extension  of  the  Roman  power  proves  that  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  aborigines  were  either  subjugated  or  entirely  weak- 
ened ;  since,  without  such  success,  the  lengthened  prosperity  of  the 
Roman  colony  would  have  been  impossible.  The  champions  of  the 
proposition,  that  it  was  impossible  to  subdue  the  aborigines,  quote 
a  passage  of  Procopius,  where  we  read  that  travellers  had  always 
to  go  by  sea  from  Carthage  to  Julia  Caesarea  (Shershel),  as  the 
road  on  land  was  infested  by  the  barbarous  tribes.  But  Proco- 
pi^S>.gppnJr5  here  of  the  time  of  the  Byzantine  sway  in  Northern 
Africa,  after  it  had  Icn  subjected  to  Justinian  by  his  general 
Belisarius.  This  second  Roman  dominion  was  neither  so  flourish- 
ing nor  so  firm  as  the  first :  since  the  old  cities  were  in  a  great 
measure  destroyed,  the  defeated  Vandals  had  reinforced  the  Numi- 
dians  in  the  mountains;  and  it  is  this  crossing  of  blood  which 
probably  gave  origin  to  the  Kabyles  of  the  present  day.  The 
Kabyles,  from  the  times  of  old,  together  with  the  Moors  who 
dwell  in  their  neighbourhood,  were  again  subdued  in  the  seventh 
century  by  the  Arab  armies  issuing  from  Egypt.  Their  incom- 
plete conversion  to  Islam  is  an  evidence  of  subjugation,  for  it  is 
improbable  that  such  a  savage  nation — so  much  addicted  to  its 
customs,  so  jealous  of  its  liberty,  so  ill-disposed  to  strangers — 
ever  could  have  accepted  the  faith  of  a  foreign  people,  speaking  a 
different  language,  without  being  subjected  to  it.*  But  this  sub- 
jection may  have  soon  ceased,  when  the  Kabyles  were  raised  to 
equal  position  with  the  victors  by  their  accepting  the  Koran.  In 
fact,  shortly  afterwards  we  see  the  Kabyles  fighting  in  the 
Moorish- Arab  armies  which  overran  Spain  in  the  eighth  century. 
After  the  Turks  had  seized  the  dominion  of  Algeria  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  a  great  portion  of  the  Kabyles  had  to  share  the 
fate  of  the  Arabs,  who  bowed  under  the  new  yoke,  and  paid  tri- 
bute to  the  Pasha,  or  Dey.  This  relation  of  allegiance  lasted  until 
the  downfal  of  the  dominion  of  the  Deys  in  the  year  1830,  when 

*  The  Tartars  who  conquered  Persia  adopted  the  faith  of  the  conquered.  Does 
not  every  superior  creed  conquer  an  inferior,  when  the  latter  is  not  stereotyped 
bv  institutions? 


THE  KABYLEP.  165 

the  reaction  against  the  Turks  took  place  in  the  Interior,  and  the 
indigenous  people  slaughtered  or  expelled  their  former  rulers. 
It  is  therefore  Incorrect  to  state  that  all  the  Kabyles  have  been 
independent  of  the  Turks,  as  has  been  alleged  by  so  many  super- 
ficial tourists  and  journalists,  each  of  them  copying  the  statements 
of  a  previous  writer.  The  Beni-Salah,  Musaia,  Sumata,  Benl-Iad, 
Amrauah,  Beni-Menasser,  Ulid-abd-el-Nur,  and  the  fair  Kabyles 
of  the  Auras,  all  paid  tribute  to  the  Deys,  which  tribute,  however, 
was  smaller  than  the  tribute  paid  by  the  Arabs.  Even  the  mighty 
tribe  of  the  Flissas,  on  the  Jurjura  mountain,  was  tributary  to 
the  Turks,  though  their  taxation  was  rather  nominal,  consisting 
only  of  a  few  pieces  of  copper  money  for  every  house.  The  same 
tribe  sent  a  military  contingent  to  the  Turks,  which,  in  1830, 
fought  gallantly  against  the  French.  Only  the  numerous  tribes 
on  the  Tafna  were  really  independent  of  the  Deys,  composing 
a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  between  Dellys  and 
Bona,  and  at  last  all  the  tribes  who  dwell  south  of  Bujia,  be- 
tween the  rivers  Summam  and  Uad-Ajebbi,  up  to  the  Biban. 
The  most  important  of  those  tribes  were  the  Zuaua  and  the 
Beni- Abbes,  who  were  able  to  take  the  field  with  ten  thousand 
warriors. 

The  Kabyles  are  divided  into  grarubas,  or  districts — the  graru- 
bas,  again,  are  divided  into  dashkaras  or  villages.  These  villages 
seldom  contain  more  than  thirty  gurbis,  straw  huts,  each  inhabited 
by  one  family.  ■^  few  tribes  have  larger  villages,  with  stone  houses; 
some  of  them  have  even  towns — for  instance,  the  Flissas  and  the 
Beni-Abbes.  The  tribes  are  under  the  dominion  of  Kaids,  whose 
power  over  their  unruly  subjects  is,  after  all,  very  small.  Justice 
is  administered  by  the  Talebs,  or  doctors,  but  the  greatest  defer- 
ence is  paid  to  the  Marabuts.  This  order  of  saints  has  been 
evidently  introduced  by  the  contact  with  the  Arabs,  together 
with  Islam,  as  the  name  is  the  same  with  both  those  nations. 
What  we  have  said  of  the  Arab  Marabuts  applies  likewise  to  the 
Berber  ones,  only  that  they  are  more  fanatical,  yet  more  in- 
tolerant  towards   foreign   religions,    and  more   influential   over 


166 


THE  KABYLES. 


their  countrymen.  At  the  attack  upon  Belida  by  the  Flissas,  an 
old  Marabut,  with  entirely  white  beard,  so  weak  that  he  had  to 
be  supported  by  two  Kabyles  on  both  sides,  was  seen  riding  on 
the  back  of  an  ass  in  front  of  the  battle.  He  preached  to  his 
warriors  with  wild  gesticulations  amidst  the  most  terrible  fire  of 
muskets,  and  retired  only  when  a  French  cannon-ball  had  carried 
away  the  head  of  his  ass.  The  Marabuts  of  the  Kabyles  speak, 
besides  their  own  language,  likewise  the  Arabic,  as  they  have  to 
expound  the  Koran  to  their  Mohammedan  countrymen. 

The  Kabyles  are  agriculturists;  they  have  fixed  dwellings,  live 
in  a  frugal  way,  and  do  not  possess  such  large  herds  of  cattle  as 
the  Arabs.     But  they  are  more  industrious  than  the  Arabs ;  well 
versed  in  many  mechanical  trades — in  the  manufacture  of  arms 
and  gunpowder,  in  the  forging  of  base  coin,  and  the  building  of 
stone  houses — arts  unknown  to  the  Bedouins.     Their  attire  is 
generally  dirty,  ragged,  and  miserable  beyond  description.    They 
clothe  themselves  in  a  kind  of  woollen  tunic,  nanaed  kandura, 
which  corresponds  with  the  Arab  haikh  or  shirt.    Their  legs  are 
bare ;  their  feet  are  covered  with  a  piece  of  sheep- skin,  for  pro- 
tection against  the  sharp  stones.     They  shave  their  heads,  have 
but  a  scanty  beard,  are  thin,  of  middle  size,  but  of  muscular 
make.    In  their  features  there  is  no  trace  of  that  noble  cast  pecu- 
liar to  the  Moors  and  Bedouins.     Savageness,  hatred,  thirst  of 
blood,  may  be  discerned  in  their  looks.     Their  language  is  yet 
more  noisy  than  that  of  the  Arabs ;  and  in  speaKing,  they  show 
their  teeth,  which  are  as  white  as  those  of  a  jackall.      The 
Kabyles  being,  on  the  whole,  very  poor,  and  addicted  to  the 
custom,  general  among  Mohammedans,  of  hiding  their  hoards, 
by  which  the  sons  often  lose  their  paternal  inheritance,  many 
young  Kabyles  are  compelled  to  work  for  daily  wages  in  the 
cities,  until  they  earn  about  one  hundred  boojoos,  which  enables 
them  to  take  a  wife  and  to  buy  a  musket.     About  four  thousand 
Kabyles  generally  work  for  wages  in  Algiers  and  its  neighbour- 
hood.    They  sleep  in  the  open  air ;  live  on  water  and  unleavened 
bread,  niggardly  and  penuriously,  until  they  have  accumulated 


THE  KABYLES.  167 

the  above-mentioned  sum ;  they  return  to  their  mountains  to  live 
free  and  independent.     They  are  very  frugal;   one  kandura,  a 
hundred  times  mended,  and  inherited  perhaps  from  the  grand- 
father, suffices  for  their  whole  life.     One  wife,  a  hut,  a  musket,  a 
yatagan  (sabre),  a  few  goats,  a  mule,  and  a  dog — the  Kabyle 
does  not  require  more,  according  to  his  views,  for  a  happy  exist- 
ence.    His  life  is  very  monotonous.     At  dawn  he  prays,  then 
he  works  for  a  few  hours  on  his  field,  amuses  himself  with  his 
family,  as  dirty  and  as  savage  as  he  is  himself;  stretches  himself 
lazily  in  the  sunshine,  and  looks  thoughtlessly  on  the  sea  or  the 
plain  below — for  the  Kabyle  lacks  the  poetical  turn  of  mind  of 
the  Arab — or  plays  on  a  wooden  whistle  monotonous,  tiresome 
melodies.   These  are  the  pursuits  and  joys  of  the  Kabyles,  accord- 
ing to  the  accounts  of  the  French  and  German  deserters,  who  re- 
turned from  them  after  a  miserable  servitude  of  several  years. 
The  Kabyle  knows  no  other  enjoyments,  and  has  no  farther  wishes. 
Those  among  them  who  possess  a  stone  house  and  a  horse  are 
esteemed  the  luckiest  of  mortals.    It  is  only  war  which  introduces 
frequent,  though  not  enviable  episodes  into  that  monotonous  life. 
They  seldom  have  occasion  to  fight  the  "  Rummis,"  as  the  French 
seldom  climb  up  their  mountains ;  but  they  war  incessantly  with 
one  another,  district  contending  against  district,  village  against 
village,  house  against  house.     No  people  on  earth  live  in  such 
anarchy  as  these  men  of  the  Atlas.     The  returned  renegades  told 
me  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  village  often  assailed  one 
another  in  the  most  furious  way,  on  account  of  a  theft  or  a  seduc- 
tion ;  the  nearest  kinsmen  shed  each  other's  blood ;  the  brother 
murdered  the  brother,  until  the  Marabut  came  and  made  peace. 

The  war  carried  on  by  the  French  with  the  natives  brought 
them  less  into  contact  with  the  Kabyles  than  with  the  Arabs. 
The  reason  of  this  is  obvious :  the  Arabs  are  all  mounted,  and  can 
easily,  and  without  great  danger,  manoeuvre  against  the  heavy 
columns  of  the  French,  who  have  but  little  cavalry ;  while  the 
retreat  of  the  Bedouins  is  always  safe,  as  the  French  horsemen  are 
-seldom  able  to  overtake  them.     The  Kabyles,  on  the  other  side, 


168  THE  KABYLES. 

always  fight  on  foot;  they  have  but  few  horses,  and  cannot  make 
much  use  of  them  on  their  mountains.  The  Berber  horses,  how- 
ever, are  the  best  breed  in  the  country ;  and  the  Kabyle  cavalry, 
though  not  formidable  in  numbers,  are  always  gallant  in  battle. 
Another  reason  of  the  greater  combativeness  of  the  Arabs,  is  their 
more  roving  life.  As  their  dwellings,  the  tents — and  their  property, 
the  herds — are  easily  moveable,  they  do  not  dread  war  ;  for  they 
know  that  water  and  pasture-grounds  can  be  easily  found  elsewhere. 
But  the  Kabyles  have  huts  and  houses,  which' may  be  destroyed  by 
the  enemy  without  difficulty;  and  their  property  consists  in  the 
harvest  of  their  fields,  which  is  not  so  easily  transportable.  They 
have,  therefore,  more  reason  to  dread  war;  and,  busied  with  their 
more  peaceable  occupation,  they  are  less  inclined  to  engage  in  it 
than  the  nomade  Arabs  :  yet,  when  an  enemy  approaches  their 
dwellings,  they  always  fight  gallantly.  As  often  as  the  French 
had  to  deal  with  Kabyles,  the  struggle  lasted  longer,  and  was 
more  bloody,  and  the  victory  more  hardly  contested,  than  with 
the  Bedouins.  The  Kabyle  fondly  loves  his  country,  and  does 
not  like  to  have  even  his  brethren  in  faith,  whether  of  Arab  or  of 
Moorish  blood,  in  too  immediate  proximity.  Hospitality  is  un- 
known to  them,  and  distrust  is  a  prominent  feature  of  their  charac- 
ter: the  independent  tribes  are  jealoua  of  their  freedom;  and  even 
in  the  time  of  the  Deys,  they  always  received  the  Turks  or  Arabs, 
or  whoever  approached  their  habitations,  with  a  volley  of  bullets. 
Since  1 830,  however,  there  have  been  several  instances  of  the 
Kabyles  going  to  war  even  when  their  dwellings  were  not  threat- 
ened. At  the  time  of  the  first  expedition  of  Marshal  Clauzel, 
Beh  Zamun  attacked  Belida  with  his  Kabyles,  though  it  is  at 
thirty  hours'  distance  from  his  tribe.  The  columns  of  warriors 
who  in  1837  attacked  the  fortifications  oii  the  heights  of  Mejez 
Ammer,  were  Kabyles  of  the  tribe  Mezzaia,  near  Bujia.  Kabyles 
fought  as  auxiliaries  to  Ahmed  Bey  in  the  defence  of  Constan- 
tine  against  the  French  in  1836  and  1837.  Then  it  was  not 
danger  to  liberty,  but  fanaticism,  which  impelled  the  mountaineers 
of  the  Atlas  to  fight  the  war,  and  so  much  prevailed  over  their 


THE  KABYLES.  169 

attachment  to  their  homes,  that  for  months  they  remained  far 
from  their  beloved  villages,  from  their  wives  and  children,  and 
often  did  not  return  at  all. 

The  tactics  of  the  Berber  warriors  are  in  so  far  different  from 
the  warfare  of  the  Arabs,  that  they  turn  the  peculiarities  of  the 
country  to  more  account ;  whilst  the  Arab,  confident  in  his  fleet 
horse,  does  not  heed  these  much.  The  Kabyles,  accordingly,  like  to 
fight  in  their  mountains,  where  they  have  a  great  superiority  over 
the  French  soldiers,  being  accustomed  to  climb  nearly  inaccessible 
rocks,  and  trained  to  agility  and  endurance.  If  they  accept 
battle  in  the  plain,  it  is  always  only  in  such  localities  as  furnish  a 
covered  ground  in  their  rear,  whither,  retreating,  they  can  creep 
into  the  bushes.  Their  enemy  has  always  to  dread  ambuscades : 
the  Kabyle  warriors  lurk  in  every  creek  and  on  every  slope, 
aiming  at  the  first  French  who  approach,  and  immediately  retiring, 
after  the  fatal  discharge,  into  the  thickets  on  the  higher  moun- 
tains. Often  they  assemble  in  great  numbers  for  the  attack  of 
the  weakest  points  of  the  French  posts.  Such  attacks  are  gene- 
rally planned  on  some  festive  occasion ;  for  instance,  on  the 
Bairam,  or  when  a  great  feast  draws  larger  crowds  together. 
Emissaries,  nearly  always  Marabuts,  begin  to  wander  through 
the  districts  of  the  tribes,  to  preach  the  holy  war,  and  to  announce 
the  day  when  the  attack  is  to  begin,  and  the  last  hour  of  the 
"Rummi"  to  strike.  Every  tribe  sends  then  its  contingent  to 
the  trysting-place,  and  as  these  warriors  are  always  volunteers, 
and,  being  composed  of  the  most  fanatical  and  most  gallant  indi- 
viduals of  the  country,  it  is  natural  that  the  attack  is  generally 
bold  and  desperate.  The  block-houses  near  Bujia  were  often  hard 
pressed;  and,  in  spite  of  the  cannonade  from  the  forts,  the  garrison 
was  repeatedly  on  the  point  of  giving  way.  There  often  happened 
murderous  single  combats  between  troopers  in  the  French  cavalry 
and  Kabyles,  where  sabre  and  yatagan  were  crossed,  and  the 
Kabyles  were  frequently  victorious. 

In  their  warlike  expeditions,  the  Kabyles  are  often  accom- 
panied by  their  wives,  who  enjoy  more  liberty,  and  have  greater 


170 


THE  KABYLES. 


influence  over  their  husbands,  than  other  Arab  women.  Those 
wild  females  encamp  near  the  battle-field,  and,  like  the  wives  of 
the  old  Cimbrians  and  Teutons,  encourage  the  warriors  by  ges- 
ticulations and  addresses  :  they  celebrate  the  strong  and  brave, 
and  chide  the  coward.  During  the  siege  of  Constantine  in  1837, 
many  Kabyle  females  were  in  the  camp  of  Ahmet  Bey.  In  June 
of  the  same  year.  Colonel  Schauenberg  was  marching  with  a 
corps  of  two  thousand  men  through  the  plain  of  the  Isser  against 
the  Amrauahs,  when  the  infantry  and  cavalry  of  the  Kabyles 
boldly  attacked  the  French ;  and  while  the  fire  of  muskets  was 
sounding  from  every  bush,  the  slopes  of  the  hills  and  the  cliffs 
were  covered  with  Kabyle  females,  in  fluttering,  uncouth  attire, 
with  unloosened  hair,  uttering  their  savage  yells,  like  so  many 
sorceresses. 

I  have  known  wellrcducated  Frenchmen  who  had  become  en- 
thusiastic admirers  of  Kabyle  life,  which,  of  course,  they  had  not 
themselves  seen,  but  had  heard  described,  and  who  believed  this 
savage  freedom,  this  easy  existence  without  wants  and  cares,  to  be 
most  attractive.  With  as  much  reason  might  they  have  praised  the 
hyena  as  happy,  which  likewise  lives  in  holes,  and  has  no  master  in 
the  world,  and  is  fond  of  its  mate  and  its  whelp,  and  shows  its  teeth 
to  any  intruder,  and  exists  carelessly  from  day  to  day.  Some 
politicians,  on  the  other  hand,  advised  cultivation  of  the  alliance 
of  the  Kabyles  in  preference  to  that  of  the  Arabs ;  but  they  had 
probably  forgotten  the  character  of  that  people,  who  have  so  often 
proved  themselves  to  be  fanatical,  despising  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  French,  and  giving  such  proofs  of  faithlessness,  that  even 
the  ''''fides  Punica"  was  eclipsed.*  The  reader  perhaps  yet  remem- 
bers the  treacherous  assassination  of  the  Commander  of  Bujia, 
Salamon  di  Musis.  Less  known  are  crimes  such  as  were  committed 
during  my  stay  in  Algiers.  A  planter  with  whom  I  was  acquainted, 


*  The  German  author  forgets  that  the  PhcBnicians  of  Carthage  were  by  far 
less  faithless  than  the  Romans  ;  and  had  Carthage  triumphed,  and  histoiy  been 
handed  down  to  us  by  the  Phoenicians  instead  of  the  Romans,  we  should  hear  with 
greater  justice  of  the/cfes  liomana. 


THE  KABYLES.  171 

and  who  had  married  a  young  Spanish  lady  from  Minorca,  had  a 
property  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers,  not  far  from  Kuba,  and 
gave  work  to  several  European  labourers,  and  to  three  Kabyles, 
whose  affection  he  thought  to  win  by  kind  treatment.  He  trusted 
them  in  so  far,  that  he  allowed  them  to  sleep  in  a  house — a  thing 
which  even  the  Turks  never  had  permitted.  One  night  the  young 
wife  came,  pale,  and  fleeing  into  the  camp  of  Kuba.  The  Kabyles 
had  murdered  her  husband  in  his  sleep ;  they  had  assassinated 
her  children  and  the  German  labourers  ;  and  she  had  only  been 
spared  because  one  of  the  Kabyles  had  fallen  in  love  with  her  ; 
from  whom,  however,  she  had  escaped  by  a  leap  through  the 
window.  Eight  corpses  were  found  in  the  empty  house ;  the 
Kabyles  had  fled  into  their  mountains,  after  having  plundered  it. 
Captain  Rozet,  of  the  staff,  who  had  often  visited  the  Berber 
labourers  in  their  huts,  liked  to  converse  with  them,  and  made 
them  presents  iA  order  to  get  information  from  them  about 
their  country  and  their  people,  once  jestingly  proposed  to  accom- 
pany them  to  their  homes.  They  cast  an  ironical  glance  at 
him,  and  remained  silent.  "  Would  my  life  be  in  danger  with 
you?"  asked  he;  "would  you  perhaps  yourselves  cut  off  my 
head?"  "Ah!"  exclaimed  they,  with  a  peculiar  accent,  and 
said  nothing  more.  A  physician  asked  a  Kabyle  labourer,  who 
had  been  most  kindly  treated  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  the 
Civil  Hospital  at  Algiers,  and  had  left  it  as  convalescent,  whether 
he  would  injure  those  females,  if  he  should  meet  them  in  the 
mountains  ?     The  Kabyle  answered  with  a  grin,   "  I  would  not 

just  take  their  head,  but they  had  better  stay  where  they 

are."  Dr.  Marseillan,  a  young  French  army  physician,  was  very 
fond  of  intercourse  with  the  Arabs ;  he  visited  them  often,  and 
had  never  reason  to  complain.  When  transferred  to  Stora,  he 
thought  he  could  be  on  the  same  footing  with  the  Kabyles.  To 
his  misfortune,  he  did  not  know  the  difference  of  character  between 
the  Arabs  and  Kabyles :  he  followed  one  of  their  Sheikhs,  who  had 
invited  him,  and  was  found  next  day,  two  hours'  distance  from 
Stora,  a  mutilated  corpse.     This  is  the  people  of  which  Pellissier 


1 72  THE  MOORS.  * 

says,  that  they  deserve  freedom  in  every  respect,*  and  that  a  cross- 
ing between  them  and  the  French  settlers  would  be  advisable ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MOORS. 

The  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  western  part  of  Barbary 
were  the  Maurusians,  or  Moors.  Their  origin  is  hidden  in  the 
darkness  of  ante-historic  ages,  and  the  facts,  or  rather  hypo- 
theses, mentioned  by  the  old  authors,  differ  greatly  in  this 
respect.  Sallust,  in  his  Jugurthine  War,  tells  us  that  when 
Hercules  perished  in  Spain,  his  motley  army  disbanded ;  and  the 
Asiatic  mountaineers,  the  Medians,  Persians,  and  Armenians, 
sailed  to  Africa,  where  they  became  intermingfed  with  the  abori- 
gines— the  Libyans — a  rude  race,  living,  like  beasts,  on  the  raw 
flesh  of  wild  animals,  and  the  herbs  of  the  field.  Their  name  was, 
according  to  him,  corrupted  from  Medes  into  Moors.  Procbpius,  a 
much  later  author,  assigns  them  a  different  origin ;  saying  that, 
according  to  their  tradition,  they  came  from  Phoenicia,  and  were 
originally  Jebusite,  Gergasite,  and  Ammonite  tribes,  who  were 
expelled  by  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  from  Palestine,  and  arrived  in 
Africa  after  many  wanderings.  The  name  of  Joshua  lived  yet 
amongst  them  at  the  time  of  Procopius;  they  called  him  "the 
robber."  Other  authors  think  they  were  the  descendants  of  those 
Arabs  who,  several  thousand  years  before  Mohammed,  had  overrun 
Egypt ;  ■]-  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  swarms  might  have 
proceeded  farther  west,  and  settled  in  the  country  known  in  later 
times  as  Mauritania.  The  facility  with  which  the  two  nations,  Arabs 
and  Moors,  combined  in  the  seventh  century,  and  founded  jointly 


*  What  does  Dr.  Wagner  think  the  people  deserve?  slavery?  or  massacre? 
or  to  he  let  alone? 

f  The  author  means  evidently  the  Hyksos ;  but  those  were  not  Arabs,  but 
probably  a  Tartar  race  like  the  Medes,  TwJcomans,  and  Turks. 


THE  MOORS.  173 

the  empire  of  Spain ;  the  identity  of  their  language,  whilst  the 
Kabyles,  subdued  and  converted  by  the  Arabs,  yet  retained  their 
tongue  ;  and  the  resemblance  of  many  customs,  for  instance  cir- 
cumcision, which  was  usual  amongst  the  Moors  even  before  the 
Arab  invasion,  seem  to  argue  a  relationship  of  the  two  nations. 
Leo  Africanus,  in  his  Descriptio  Africae^  mentions  an  Arab  immi- 
gration into  Africa,  headed  by  Malek  Afriki,  several  centuries 
after  Joshua.  But  several  other  ancient  authors  also  mention 
the  similarity  of  manners  between  the  Arabs  and  the  old  inhabi- 
tants of  Africa.  Strabo,  for  instance,  says  explicitly  that  the 
Getullans,  who,  with  the  Libyans,  were  the  aborigines  of  Africa, 
lived  entirely  like  Arab  nomades. 

The  modern  Moors  constitute  only  about  the  tenth  part  of  the 
population  of  Algeria,  and  their  number  has  been  decreasing  ever 
since  1830.  Many  of  them  emigrate,  from  religious  and  econo- 
mical reasons,  to  the  other  Barbary  states ;  others  have  been 
driven  by  the  destruction  of  several  cities,  and  by  the  calamities 
of  war,  into  the  interior  among  the  Arabs,  with  whom  they  soon 
assimilated.  Of  all  the  indigenous  populations  of  Barbary,  the 
Moors  have  the  mildest  manners,  and  the  greatest  amount  of 
knowledge.  From  the  times  of  old,  they  have  chiefly  dwelt  in 
the  cities  and  sea-ports.  There  are  few  races  in  the  world  hand- 
somer than  the  Moors.  They  are  well  built,  not  so  tall  as  the 
Arabs,  but  above  middle  size;  they  incline  to  corpulence;  and  very 
few  of  them  are  thin.  Their  features  are  noble,  bat  less  ener- 
getic than  those  of  the  Arabs :  the  complexion  of  the  children  is 
clear,  white,  and  rosy,  as  Shaw  has  remarked,  who  says  that 
it  is  rare  to  find  in  Europe  so  fine  a  complexion.  With  adult 
age,  men  get  pale  or  a  little  brown ;  the  hair,  which  is  shaved 
in  the  Arab  manner,  leaving  but  one  tress  on  the  top,  is  jet 
black ;  so  are  their  eyes.  The  physiognomy  seems  to  indicate 
mildness  and  melancholy;  and  nobody  could  surmise  that  this 
race  of  soft  glance  and  quiet  demeanour  furnished  its  contingent 
to  the  pirate  fleets  which,  a  century  back,  were  the  terror  of  the 
Mediterranean.     The  Moorish  females,  who  never  expose  them- 


174  THE  MOORS. 

selves  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  but  remain  all  the  day  at  home  in  the 
cool  shady  gallery  of  the  colonnade,  or  when  they  go  out,  cover 
their  faces  with  veils,  retain  their  brilliant  complexion  to  old  age. 
Their  features  are  uncommonly  handsome ;  the  forehead  is  very 
white ;  the  slightly-bent  nose  nobly  shaped ;  the  mouth,  teeth,  and 
chin,  are  perfect,  and  the  fiery  splendour  of  their  eyes  surpasses 
that  of  their  husbands,  whose  glance  is  rather  soft  and  tender  than 
ardent.  My  observations,  however,  are  confined  to  a  very  insigni- 
ficant number  of  Moorish  females  whom  I  saw  on  the  terraces  of 
their  houses,  or  at  hunting-parties,  or  on  occasion  of  nuptials. 

The  costume  of  the  Moors  resembles  that  of  the  Turks,  of  course 
not  the  reformed  ones :  it  is  like  the  old  splendid  Turkish  attire, 
with  the  gaudy  turban,  the  elegant  gold- embroidered  waistcoat, 
the  wide  trousers  full  of  folds,  which  reach  only  to  the  knee,  and 
the  rich  scarf.  Those  who  have  performed  the  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca  wear  green  turbans ;  and  the  distinctive  sign  of  the  Kadis 
(judges),  of  the  Kodshas  (scribes),  of  the  Marabuts  (saints),  and  of 
the  Talebs  (doctors),  is  a  peculiarly  formed  white  broad  turban,  with 
many  small  folds.  The  young  Moors,  up  to  their  fifteenth  year, 
wear  a  skull-cap,  which  covers  only  the  tress  left  unshaven  on  the 
top  of  their  head;  many  take  the  turban  only  when  they  marry. 
All  the  Moors  wear  white  or  black  burnuses,  like  the  Arabs,  but 
of  lighter  and  more  delicate  fabric,  and  of  more  elegant  cut. 
They  wear  this  cloak  only  in  bad  weather,  but  they  always  carry 
it  about  them,  throwing  it  on  the  shoulder  or  across  the  arm.  The 
higher  classes  even  think  it  improper  to  go  out  without  the  bur- 
nus,  which  is  a  very  picturesque  attire,  and  resembles  much  the 
toga  of  the  Romans.  With  the  poor,  the  cut  of  the  costume  is  the 
same ;  but  instead  of  fine  cloth  and  gold- embroidered  silk,  they 
dress  in  coarse  stuffs,  sometimes  in  rags.  The  calves  of  their  legs 
are  always  bare,  the  feet  being  covered  with  a  kind  of  slippers. 
The  Moorish  females  in  the  streets  are  clad  in  white  from  top  to  toe. 
They  wear  white  muslin  or  linen  pantaloons ;  a  haikh  covers  the 
upper  part  of  their  body;  the  face  they  veil  with  white  handker- 
chiefs, and  they  leave  their  brilliant  eyes  alone  uncovered.     Their 


THE  MOORS.  175 

garb  at  home  is  of  a  different  description.  There  they  dress 
gaudily  and  sumptuously,  adorning  their  heads  with  a  peculiar 
towering  ornament  of  braided  silver.  They  have  silk  jackets 
with  short  sleeves,  and  rich  embroidery;  a  broad  girdle  of  the 
most  costly  fabric  encircles  their  waist ;  their  pantaloons  are  com- 
monly of  white  silk,  reaching  only  to  the  knees,  whilst  their  feet 
are  inserted  in  half-slippers  of  peculiar  form,  the  upper  part, 
of  green  or  red  velvet,  being  usually  overloaded  with  gold- 
embroidery.  Such  is  the  attire  of  the  Moorish  ladies  at  home, 
both  sumptuous  and  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

What  I  said  about  the  manners  and  costumes  of  the  Moorish 
inhabitants  of  Algiers,  is  applicable  to  the  entire  Moorish  popula- 
tion of  the  country.  The  religious  observances,  the  public  and 
private  feasts,  the  social  life  and  occupations,  are  the  same  in  all 
the  cities.  The  most  characteristic  feature  of  this  people  which 
strikes  every  foreigner,  is  their  apathetic  calmness.  The  majority 
of  the  Moors  are  shopkeepers ;  we  see  them  the  whole  day  sitting 
before  their  stalls  with  crossed  legs,  drinking  their  coffee,  or  puffing 
slowly  the  smoke  of  tobacco  from  their  red  clay-pipes ;  and  often, 
likewise,  without  coffee  and  tobacco,  staring,  motionless,  silent, 
serious,  and  seemingly  forlorn,  in  abstract  meditation.  There 
are  many  mechanics  among  them, — joiners,  turners,  clockmakers, 
tailors,  embroiderers,  gunsmiths,  and  especially  shoemakers. 
But  they  work  with  unbearable  slowness :  they  put  their  tools 
often  aside  to  take  again  and  again  a  cup  of  coffee ;  then  they 
examine  their  work  for  a  long  time  before  setting  about  it  again: 
they  perform  everything  with  the  slowest  and  most  measured 
movements.  I  have  already  mentioned  the  life  in  the  coffee- 
houses ;  there,  too,  the  Moor  sits  with  crossed  legs  without  stirring, 
and  listens  to  the  slow  cadence  of  the  monotonous  music. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  Moors  are  as  poor  in  thoughts 
as  they  are  scanty  in  words.  I  saw  some  of  them  leaning  on  the 
terraces  of  their  houses,  or  on  the  battlement  of  the  pier,  gazing  at 
the  foaming  waves  when  the  mistral  of  the  north-west  was 
clustering.   Their  pale  serious  countenances  looked  so  grand,  that 


176  THE  MOORS. 

they  might  have  been  taken  for  mighty  magi,  at  whose  command 
the  sea  was  in  rebellion.  When,  on  summer  evenings,  they  sat 
in  groups  at  the  gate  Bab-a-Zun,  imposing  and  dignified,  and 
when  one  of  them  began  to  speak,  and  all  the  others  listened  to 
him  attentively,  it  was  the  image  of  the  Roman  Senate  in  turbans; 
and  whoever  did  not  understand  Arabic  would  not  have  believed 
that  this  solemn  congregation  was  talking  simply  of  the  cattle- 
market  of  the  next  day,  or  of  the  hen  of  the  neighbour  which 
yesterday  had  laid  one  egg  more  than  usual:  he  would  not 
have  thought  that  an  assembly  of  such  commanding  appearance, 
where  heroes  and  senators  seemed  to  have  met,  is  composed 
merely  of  farmers,  cheesemongers,  school-teachers,  and  smiths. 
The  science  of  physiognomy  nowhere  deceives  more  strikingly 
than  here.  For  a  long  time  I  could  not  believe  that  these  noble 
figures,  these  melancholy,  dreaming  eyes,  are  absorbed  in  dull  and 
empty  brooding.  I  could  not  help  fancying  that  it  is  the  sorrow 
of  the  broken  greatness  of  their  once  so  mighty  race  which  gives 
the  beautiful  melancholy  expression  to  their  pale  features,  or  that 
it  was  only  the  body  which  sat  there  dreaming,  whilst  the  spirit 
was  wandering  over  the  graves  of  the  Abencerrages,  and  convers- 
ing with  its  deceased  ancestors  in  Granada,  and  planning  how 
to  avenge  the  injuries  of  centuries.  But  the  Europeans  who  for 
many  years  have  lived  at  Algiers,  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Moors,  who  converse  with  them  daily,  and  have  every 
opportunity  of  studying  them  soberly,  declare  unanimously  that 
this  people  lack  every  poetical  thought  or  energetic  aspiration,  and 
that  they  do  not  think  in  their  shops  of  anything  else  except  of  the 
coffee-house;  and,  in  the  coffee-house,  only  of  their  shops  or  of  their 
kuskusu-dish,  or  of  their  wife  at  home,  or  of  nothing  at  all;  whilst 
they  always  retain  that  deeply  thoughtful  expression.  Though 
it  is  difficult  to  attain  a  knowledge  of  the  moral  resources  of  an 
uncommunicative  people,  yet,  as  far  as  I  got  acquainted  with  the 
Moors,  during  a  stay  of  two  years  among  them,  I  must  say  that  I 
concur  in  the  opinion  of  the  other  Europeans  in  respect  to  their 
faculties.     Beside  the  countenance  and  costume,  I  did  not  find 


THE  MOORS.  177 

anything  poetical  with  them.  The  calmness  and  the  melancholy 
expression  of  their  features  is  more  a  sign  of  apathy  and  dulness 
than  of  resignation  and  thought. 

Their  mildness  of  manners  facilitates  pleasant  intercourse  with 
them,  and  the  French  never  have  found  them  obstacles  to 
the  extension  of  their  dominion.  Though  the  Moors,  like  the 
other  Mussulmans,  are  fanatical,  yet  their  fanaticism  is  not  dan- 
gerous ;  they  are  too  peaceable,  and  oppression  must  grow 
unbearable  before  they  would  think  of  armed  resistance.  In  the 
first  years  of  the  French  sway,  the}'-  saw  their  mosques  destroyed, 
and  the  tombs  of  their  fathers  violated  ;  but  they  did  not  dare  to 
show  their  disaifection  to  the  stern  Duke  of  Rovigo,  otherwise 
than  by  angry  looks.  They  were  afterwards  reconciled  to  the  vic- 
tors ;  and  many  Moors  are  now  in  French  service  as  interpreters, 
police- agents,  orderlies,  &c.  Others,  who  could  not  bear  to  live 
with  infidels,  emigrated  to  Tunis,  Tangiers,  or  the  East ;  or  they 
retired  into  the  interior,  there  to  be  absorbed  amongst  the  Bedou- 
ins. The  number  of  those  emigrants  is  estimated  at  rather  more 
than  a  third  of  the  nation.  Those  who  remained  have  accus- 
tomed themselves  to  their  present  position  and  existing  rulers;  and 
in  many  cities,  as  for  instance  in  Bona,  the  mutual  intercourse  is 
so  friendly,  that  very  few  of  the  Moors  would  be  inclined  to  wish 
for  the  restoration  of  Turkish  sway.  To  an  Arab  rule  they  would 
even  make  resistance  with  arms  in  hand,  as,  on  the  whole,  there 
is  a  great  dislike  between  Arabs  and  Moors,  which  is  partly  tem- 
pered by  community  of  faith,  but  cannot  be  wholly  overcome  until 
faith  rises  into  fanaticism.  The  Arab,  who  is  much  more  ener- 
getic, more  hardened  and  warlike,  expresses  his  contempt  of  the 
Moor  on  every  occasion,  and  the  name  Hadar  (town-folks)  has 
with  him  a  degrading  additional  meaning. 

Kecent  travellers  have  expressed  as  contradictory  opinions  re- 
specting the  character  of  the  Moors  as  regarding  that  of  the  Arabs. 
"William  Schimper  has  been  entirely  captivated  by  their  mildness 
and  calmness,  whilst  Bozet  did  not  find  a  single  good  quality  in 
them.     It  is  true  that  the  Moors  are  as  avaricious  as  all  the  other 


178    "  THE  MOORS. 

Mohammedan  nations ;  they,  too,  steal  and  cheat  where  they  can  do 
it  without  danger;  yet  those  crimes  are  not  more  fi-equent  here  than 
in  France.  In  spite  of  their  apparent  mildness,  the  Moors  have 
sometimes  been  hard  and  cruel  with  prisoners  ;  but  this  happened 
before  they  had  entered  into  closer  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
French  :  it  was  more  the  result  of  religious  fanaticism  than  of 
natural  disposition,  and  perhaps  arose  from  the  remembrance 
of  a  dim  tradition  of  the  oppression  and  sufferings  sustained  by 
their  forefathers  in  Spain.  They  designated  all  the  Europeans 
by  the  name  of  "  Rummi,"  and  vowed  common  hatred  to  them 
all.  That  hatred  was  inherited  by  them  from  their  ancestors, 
who  were  expelled  from  the  soil  of  Spain  by  the  cruel  zeal  of  the 
Philips.  For  two  hundred  years  they  had  nearly  no  intercourse 
at  all  with  the  Europeans  ;  they  knew  them  only  from  the  history 
of  the  Spanish  persecutions.  The  difference  of  faith,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Knights  of  Rhodes,  had  originally  given  rise 
to  piratical  warfare,  and  the  Moors  did  not  know  that  the  civiliza- 
tion of  Europe  had  changed  the  manners  of  the  Western  nations, 
that  the  fanaticism  of  the  crusades  is  out  of  fashion,  and  that  even 
Spain  has  become  tolerant*  in  some  respects.  AVhen  the  war 
broke  out  with  the  French,  the  recollection  of  the  Ferdinands  and 
Philips  of  Spain  awoke  in  their  minds,  and  the  barbarous  fury  with 
which  they  treated  the  unfortunate  crews  of  some  wrecked  men-of- 
war,  though  unjustifiable  in  itself,  was  yet  in  some  respect  to  be 
excused  in  an  uninstructed  people,  to  whom  the  Dey  and  the 
Marabut  had  preached  so  much  about  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened their  faith,  their  property,  and  their  wives.  The  population, 
otherwise  so  apathetic,  peaceable,  and  cowardly,  took  up  arms, 
partly  from  fanaticism  against  the  "  Rummi,"  and  partly  from  fear 
of  the  Dey.  It  was  only  when  the  French  twenty-four  pounders 
began  to  batter  the  Emperor's  fort,  that  they  again  recovered 
their  senses,  and  became  aware  of  what  European  warfare  is  in 

*  That  is  to  say,  tolerant  enough  to  accept  money  from  Protestant  and  Jewish 
lenders,  but  not  tolerant  enough  to  pay  interest  to  infidels  and  misbelievers,  or 
to  grant  them  a  decent  burial-yluce. 


THE  MOORS.  179 

reality.  They  soon  saw  that  a  suddenly  aroused  paroxysm  of 
gallantrj'-,  and  a  fanaticism  awakened  by  the  approach  of  the 
traditional  enemy  of  their  faith,  could  not  avail  against  the 
columns  of  arms  and  cannon.  Their  dread  of  death  triumphed 
over  all  their  other  feelings.  When  the  French  entered  the 
conquered  pirate-city,  the  Moors,  stunned  by  the  unexpected 
blow,  returned  to  their  dull,  passive  apathy.  But  soon  they  began 
to  look  defyingly  when  they  saw  that  the  victors  were  not  at  all 
so  dangerous  and  blood-thirsty  as  they  had  been  described.  In 
the  first  years  of  the  occupation,  the  Moors  shunned  all  inter- 
course with  the  French.  The  females  of  rank  did  not  show  them- 
selves in  the  streets,  even  though  covered  with  veils;  and  they  hid 
themselves,  crying  and  trembling,  when  they  perceived  a  French- 
man lurking  perhaps  on  the  terrace  of  the  neighbour  house.  But 
by  and  by  they  became  accustomed  in  iVlgiers  to  have  infidel 
Frenchmen  for  neighbours,  who,  after  all,  were  more  amiable 
than  they  had  expected.  The  most  fanatical  party  emigrated 
from  the  city ;  an  intercourse  began  to  be  established,  first  from 
commercial  motives;  afterwards,  when  acquaintances  were  made  in 
a  business  way,  even  from  feelings  of  mutual  cordiality  and  attach- 
ment. The  beginning  was  made  with  the  youths,  in  whose  meek 
and  serene  souls  hatred  and  fanaticism  were  not  yet  confirmed. 
Moorish  boys  of  the  lower  classes  learned  French  with  remarkable 
ease  ;  together  with  the  Jewish  children,  they  became  the  inter- 
preters, and  negotiators  between  the  European  and  the  indigenous 
population  :  some  of  them  even  took  service  with  the  French. 
Though  the  fathers  watched  them  closely,  that  the  boys  might  not 
meddle  with  the  "Rummis"  more  than  was  necessary,  yet  they 
could  not  prevent  the  pleasure  which  the  children  took  in  the  sights 
and  enjoyments  of  the  Europeans:  they  could  not  prevent  the  boys 
from  running  to  the  harbour  when  a  steamboat  arrived  from  France, 
or  from  admiring  with  envious  eyes  the  shops  of  the  confectioners, 
with  all  the  delightful  cakes  displayed  in  the  windows,  or  from 
hastening  to  the  gate  Bab-el-Uad  when  the  troops  were  reviewed, 
or  the  fire-works  discharged ;  or  from  gathering  regularly  at  the 


180  THE  MOORS. 

great  square  at  eight  In  the  evening,  to  accompan}'^  the  tattoo  to  the 
barracks,  and  thence  to  return  home  in  rank  and  file,  imitating  the 
French  soldiers,  drumming  and  trumpeting,  and  using  the  French 
words  of  command.  Perhaps  the  continual  display  of  military 
pomp  and  ornament  might  arouse  the  military  spirit  of  the  Moorish 
youth,  and  accustom  them  to  look  to  more  energetic  occupations 
than  those  of  their  fathers.  Or  if  the  report  of  powder  and  the 
neighing  of  horses  does  not  allure  them,  perhaps  the  aspect  of  the 
great  and  striking  wonders  sent  to  Africa  by  European  civilization, 
the  mighty  ships,  the  novel  buildings,  the  glistering  articles  of 
mechanical  skill,  may  not  fail  to  produce  abiding  results,  and 
may  give  them  an  impulse  to  imitation  and  competition.  In 
any  case,  the  defying  and  fanatical  hatred  will  die  out  with  the 
old  Moorish  grey -beards,  and  the  rising  generation  will  not  be 
envenomed  against  those  with  whom  they  have  played  in  their 
childhood,  and  with  whom  they  grew  up  side  by  side.  Without 
any  too  sanguine  hopes,  I  yet  believe  that  the  Moorish  population, 
if  managed  with  forbearance,  and  employed  with  prudence,  might 
in  future  render  substantial  service  to  the  European  colonization. 

What  I  have  said  about  the  inveterate  though  silent  hatred  of 
the  grown-up  Moors  against  the  Europeans  is,  however,  only  in 
general  true  ;  exceptions  are  frequent.  Even  the  circumstance 
that  many  Moors  derive  pecuniary  advantage  from  intercourse  with 
the  French,  has  softened  their  hostile  feelings.  Some  of  them 
approached  the  Europeans  with  open  cordiality  and  without  caring 
for  the  peevish  resentment  of  their  stricter  co-religi(»nists.  In  the 
large  Moorish  coffee-house  in  the  Divan  Street,  I  often  saw  Euro- 
peans and  Moors  sitting  together  on  the  long  benches,  and  some- 
times even  the  Moorish  host  expelling  some  of  his  countrymen  to 
make  room  for  European  guests,  who  commonly  pay  one  sou 
more  for  their  coffee.  I  made  several  agreeable  acquaintances 
with  Moorish  farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers.  They 
are,  on  the  whole,  better,  and  of  more  open  charactc  r  than  the 
citizens,  who,  by  their  trade,  have  become  more  inclined  to  selfish- 
ness and  roguery.    I  remember  them,  with  great  pleasure,  in  their 


TUE  MOORS.  181 

neat  white  cottages,  and  sliould  like  to  meet  tbem  again.  When 
overtaken  by  a  thunder-storm,  on  a  naturalist's  expedition,  I  often 
took  refuge  in  those  cottages,  and  found  an  equally  friendly  wel- 
come from  poor  and  rich.  I  was  commonly  oflfered  coffee  or  milk 
and  fruit,  and  the  host  often  refused  to  take  a  counter-gift.  As 
the  ogave  inclosures  of  the  Moorish  gardens  are  nearly  all  defec- 
tive and  incomplete,  I  used  to  rove  through  them  with  my  musket 
without  ceremony,  since  I  often  found  insects  there,  which  I  could 
not  meet  with  elsewhere.  Yet  never  did  a  landlord  reproach  me 
for  such  trespasses.  On  reaching  one  of  them  riding  on  his  ass, 
he  always  halted,  and,  after  a  kind  greeting,  offered  me  tobacco, 
or  even  something  more  substantial.  Once  I  took  a  walk  on  the 
western  hills  of  Bona,  and  sang  German  songs,  whilst  I  sought  a 
beautiful  green-shining  beetle  on  the  flowers  of  the  Daphne 
gnidium.  A  Moor  stood  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  in  his  vineyard, 
and  listened  to  me  attentively.  Suddenly  he  approached,  and 
offered  me  an  immense  bunch  of  grapes.  The  air  was  very  sultry, 
and  this  refreshment,  offered  in  so  kind  a  way,  was  very  accept- 
able to  me.  At  the  time  of  the  fruit- gathering,  many  Europeans 
are  invited  by  their  Moorish  acquaintances  to  their  farms  ;  and 
Christians  and  Mussulmans  then  feast  comfortably  together  from 
the  same  dish,  and  drirk  from  the  same  cup.  Of  course,  such  a 
Moorish  harvest-feast  is  not  so  merry  and  entertaining  as  a  vint- 
age on  the  Rhine,  or  in  the  Gascogne,  where  the  female  wine- 
dressers  appear  with  the  leaves  twisted  into  their  shin}'-  hair,  and 
enliven  society  with  their  amiability.  When  a  female  is  seen  in 
the  Moorish  feasts,  it  is  only  a  negress  with  thick  lips,  and  ugly 
animal  features.  The  Mooresses  hide  themselves  carefully  when 
a  guest  is  in  the  house ;  and,  if  we  meet  them,  they  are  nearly 
always  covered  with  white  veils  from  top  to  toe,  like  a  ghost. 
But  the  females  being  excluded  from  all  intercourse  with  men,  it 
is  natural  that  social  life  in  Algeria  should  be  dreary  and  mono- 
tonous. As  I  have  already  remarked,  the  Moors  are  by  no  means 
communicative,  and  the  best  entertainment  at  such  parties  is  af- 
forded by  the  delightful  scenery,  the  view  of  the  trees  studded  with 


182  THE  MOORS. 

golden  oranges,  and  of  the  blooming  plain  and  the  dark-blue 
sea. 

But  even  with  those  Moors  who  would  not  live  in  Algiers  (the 
warlike  El- Jesair) — after  the  pirate- queen  had  to  bend  her  haughty 
neck  under  the  yoke  of  the  Christians ;  or  who,  at  a  later  period, 
thought  that  their  hearts  must  break  when  they  saw  how  their 
mosques  were  destroyed,  and  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors  defiled; 
who,  therefore,  emigrated  to  the  interior — even  with  those  Moors 
the  old  hatred  has  lost  its  intensity.  Whatever  was  the  mischief 
brought  upon  them  by  the  French  invasion,  they  did  not  resent  it 
on  individuals.  And  as  to  the  individuals,  they  had  really  seldom 
any  reason  to  complain ;  the  French  soldiers  evinced,  on  the  whole, 
great  forbearance  when  the  struggle  had  ended;  and  exceptions 
were  very  rare.  I  have  met  some  of  the  emigrant  Moors  of  Algiers 
at  Mascara.  Those  men  whose  eyes  were  opened  by  a  residence 
of  three  years  in  a  countiy  ruled  by  Arabs,  greeted  us  with  un- 
feigned joy.  These  half-civilized  Mohammedans  found  more  to 
sympathize  with,  in  the  life,  the  manners,  and  costumes  of  civi- 
lized Christians,  than  in  the  wild  character  and  savage  life  of 
the  Bedouins.  Under  French  sway,  their  life  and  property  was 
at  least  secure;  the  unoffending  race  was  not  persecuted,  whilst 
with  the  Arab  oflScials  of  Abd-el-Kader,  they  had  been  exposed  to 
manifold  vexations,  and  had  to  suffer  humiliations  of  every  kind 
in  their  daily  intercourse  with  the  Arabs,  who  most  heartily 
despise  every  "  Hadar"  (citizen),  and  make  them  feel  their  superi- 
ority. The  Consul  Daumas  and  his  retinue  lived  on  the  best 
understanding  with  the  emigrant  Moors,  and  scarcely  a  day 
elapsed  without  a  visit  from  them.  All  those  Moors  inquired 
about  their  French  acquaintances  in  Algiers ;  there  was  scarcely 
one  who  had  not  made  the  acquaintance  of  some  European  to 
whom  he  wished  to  be  remembered.  One  of  them  accompanied 
us  on  our  return  from  Mascara  for  several  hours,  and  took  then 
such  an  affectionate  leave  of  us  as  if  we  had  been  his  brothers. 
Should  it  require  any  farther  instance  to  show  how  quickly  the 
hatred  arising  from  ancestral  traditions,  and  maintained  by  the 


THE  TURKS  AND  KURUGLIS.  183 

lack  of  information  about  the  character  of  the  Christians,  is  softened 
and  melting  away,  I  may  mention  Constantine,  the  population  of 
which  was  most  hostile  to  the  French,  and  committed  atrocious 
outrages  on  the  prisoners.  A  few  months  after  the  capture  of 
the  town,  this  feeling  had  altogether  vanished ;  the  conquered 
people  attached  themselves  openly  and  readily  to  the  conquerors, 
and  soon  took  up  arms  on  the  side  of  the  French  against  their 
late  Bey,  for  whom  they  had  fought  valiantly  only  a  few  months 
before  against  the  "Rummi." 

As  the  majority  of  the  Moors  have  become  dull,  cowardly,  and 
demoralized  by  a  long  endured  tyranny,  they  cannot  become  an 
important  prop  of  the  French  dominion;  yet  they  constitute  no 
hindrance  to  the  new  colonization,  and  this  is  most  advantageous 
in  a  country,  the  great  majority  of  whose  inhabitants  are  opposed 
to  their  rulers  in  deadly  hatred. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  TURKS  AND  KURUGLIS. 


The  number  of  the  Turks  in  the  Regency  of  Algeria  has  materially 
decreased  since  the  downfal  of  their  sway  in  1830,  and  now 
scarcely  amounts  to  more  than  a  few  thousands,  who  are  dispersed 
in  the  cities  of  the  coast  and  the  interior.  The  first  Turks  came  to 
Algeria  in  1516.  They  consisted  of  a  band  of  freebooters,  whom 
the  renegade  Horuk  (Haruj)  Barbarossa  had  gathered,  along  with 
many  other  desperate  characters  from  all  the  different  countries  of 
the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  After  the  death  of  that  renowned 
pirate-prince,  his  brother,  Khai'reddln  Barbarossa,  threatened  by 
All  Homar,  the  chief  of  Tlemsan,  sent  an  embassy  to  Constantinople 
to  the  Sultan  Selim,  requesting  his  protection;  he  promised  to 
subject  the  country  to  the  allegiance  of  the  Porte,  under  the  con- 
dition of  being  invested  with  tlie  Pashallk  of  Algiers.  Selim 
complied  with  the  request,  and  sent  him  two  thousand  janissaries, 


184  THE  TUllKS  AND  KURUGLIS. 

who  were  afterwards  reinforced  by  new  detachments.  Thus  the 
Turks  acquired  a  settlement  in  Algeria,  and  extended  their  domi- 
nion even  over  the  interior  of  the  country.  The  less  accessible 
mountain-regions  and  the  deserts  alone  remained  independent; 
such  as  the  country  of  the  Kabyles,  south  of  Bujia,  and  the  dry 
steppes  of  the  Arab  tribes  of  the  Angads,  south  of  Tlenisan.  The 
Turks  were  continually  recruited  by  voluntary  enlistment  at  Con- 
stantinople and  Smyrna.  Many  of  them  married  Mooresses  in 
Algeria,  but  they  lost  by  this  a  portion  of  their  privileges.  The 
offspring  of  those  marriages  were  called  Kuruglis,  and  were  nearly, 
in  all  their  qualities,  the  equals  of  their  fathers;  yet  they  were 
jealously  watched  by  the  Turks,  as  they  had  repeatedly  attempted 
to  possess  themselves  of  independent  power,  and  had  allied  them- 
selves for  that  purpose  with  the  Moors.  After  the  conquest  of 
Algiers  by  Marshal  Bourmont,  the  majority  of  those  Turks  who 
were  able  to  bear  arms  were  banished  from  the  city  :  they  are 
now  scarce  in  the  sea- port  towns:  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
live  at  Constantine. 

All  the  Turks  whom  I  have  seen  in  the  different  African  towns 
are  less  tall,  less  bony,  and  more  fleshy  than  the  Arabs,  though 
they  do  not  incline  to  corpulence  so  much  as  the  Moors.  Their 
features  are  handsome,  and  more  energetic  than  those  of  the 
Moors;  more  marked,  yet  without  their  interesting  melancholy 
expression.  Their  eyes  are  far  from  being  so  fine,  and  rather 
indicate  wild  boldness  than  dream}'-  mildness.  Their  costume  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Moors,  but  commonl}^  more  gaudy.  The 
Kuruglis,  especially,  are  fond  of  a  bright  and  rich  attire,  and 
some  of  them  wear  clothes  of  several  thousand  francs  in  value. 

Many  of  the  Turks  and  Kuruglis  of  Algeria  have  entered  the 
French  service.  In  Constantine,  they  form  several  corps,  or- 
ganized in  the  manner  of  the  late  janissaries  of  the  Deys ;  they 
are  chiefly  employed  as  moveable  columns,  and  the  French  are 
greatly  indebted  to  them  for  their  favourable  progress  in  that  pro- 
vince. Altogether,  the  French  have  reason  to  repent  of  having 
disbanded  the  army  of  the  Dey,  and  banished  the  majority  of  its 


THE  TURKS  AND  KURUGLIS.  185 

soldiers  from  the  country.  The  invaders  thought  they  could  rely 
on  the  Arabs,  the  formerly  oppressed  race.  But  they  soon  found 
that  this  nation  never  can  become  a  prop  to  the  new  dominion,  as 
it  is  wilder,  more  unruly  and  fanatical,  and  more  opposed  in  its 
manners  and  customs  to  the  Europeans  than  the  Turks,  who  had 
been  the  dreaded  rulers  of  the  country,  and  knew  both  how  to 
war  with  Arabs,  and  how  to  keep  them  in  peace.  It  would  have 
been  easy  to  prevail  upon  them  to  accept  service  with  the  French. 
After  the  explosion  of  the*  Emperor's  fort,  many  of  them  were 
heard  to  say  that  French  silver  had  as  good  a  sound  as  that  of 
the  Dey.  The  co-operation  of  the  Turks  would  have  been  of  evi- 
dent advantage  for  the  French  conquest,  since  the  Arabs  could 
not  have  risen  to  such  energy  and  boldness,  seeing  that  their  old 
masters  were  in  the  service  of  the  French,  so  that  things  would 
have  taken  altogether  a  different  turn. 

In  point  of  character  and  manners,  the  Turks  of  Algeria  pretty 
much  resemble  their  brothers  elsewhere  in  the  East.  They  are 
proud,  frugal,  gallant,  very  honest  in  commercial  dealings,  very 
faithful  and  reliable  as  allies,  even  when  they  have  to  fight  against 
Mussulmans.  They  are  less  fanatical  than  all  their  co-religionists, 
the  Mozabites  excepted;  they  keep  their  word  strictly,  and  are 
often  generous.  I  hold  the  Turks  to  be  the  noblest  and  most  im- 
portant Mohammedan  nation.  But  they  are  likewise  not  exempt 
from  vices.  They  are  less  avaricious,  but  they  are  more  rapa- 
cious than  the  Arabs:  they  plunder  and  make  exactions  without 
remorse ;  they  are  cruel,  lazy,  and  sensual.  The  Turks  of  Bar- 
bary  remain  entirety  what  their  countrymen  were  in  Constan- 
tinople before  the  reform.  They  maintain  the  old  costume,  and  the 
old  manners;  where  they  rule,  as  for  instance  in  Tunis  and  Tri- 
polis,  they  have  likewise  the  old  energetic  and  despotical  turn  of 
mind.  The  Turk  is  superior  to  all  the  other  races  of  Barbary — a 
born  ruler,  before  whose  proud  deportment  all  the  other  Moham- 
medans bow.  Even  now,  when  they  are  no  longer  rulers  in  Al- 
geria, they  hold  a  high  rank  among  the  natives.  All  the  qualities 
of  the  Turk,  even  his  imposing  calmness  and  his  idlenesSj^seem  to 


186  THE  JEWS. 

have  stamped  this  people  as  the  rulers  of  the  Moslems.  This 
accounts  for  the  strange  fact  that  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand 
Turks,  dispersed  all  over  the  country,  were  able  to  maintain  the 
peace  of  Algeria  before  the  arrival  of  the  French,  and  that  they 
could  even  carry  on  a  system  of  oppressive  despotism,  whilst 
Arabs  and  Moors  did  not  dare  to  stir. 

Most .  of  the  Turks  and  Kuruglis  are  well  off,  and  live  upon 
their  income.  They  have  but  few  wants,  yet  they  make  a  greater 
display  in  their  attire  and  in  their  fare  than  all  the  other  natives. 
A  portion  of  the  Kuruglis  are  merchants  in  retail;  they  hold 
several  shops  in  Algiers,  •  especially  in  the  Divan  Street.  The 
shopkeeper  sits  there  with  his  usual  gravity,  richly  adorned,  and 
serves  his  customers  with  dignified  courtesy.  The  Turkish  mer- 
chants principally  traffic  in  handsome  embroideries,  perfumes, 
pipes,  and  arms ;  they  never  ask  too  high  prices,  never  make 
abatement,  and  maintain  in  business  the  strictest  honesty.  They 
are  less  apt  in  mechanical  skill  than  the  other  native  races;  in 
point  of  scholarship  they  stand  on  the  same  level  with  the  Moors. 
Their  conversation  is  agreeable;  they  do  not  avoid  the  Europeans, 
are  fond  of  social  life,  have  already  learnt  from  tlie  French  how  to 
drink  wine,  and  show  sincere  attachment  to  their  friends,  even  when 
these  are  Christians.  The  Kuruglis  of  Mostaganem  and  Tlemsan 
have  given  abundant  evidence  of  their  faith  and  general  honesty. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   JEWS. 

The  Jews  of  Barbary  came  to  that  country  probably  soon  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  when  the  remnant  of  the  unhappy 
nation  became  scattered  all  over  the  world.  According  to  local 
tradition,  however,  the  great  majority  of  them  came  to  Africa  only 
after  the  fall  of  Granada,  to  share  the  exile  of  the  Moors  and  Arabs 
of  Spain.     At  that  time,  the  spirit  of  the  most  bitter  persecution 


THE  JEWS.  .  187 

reigned  in  Christian  Europe  against  the  Jews,  whilst  they  found 
protection  with  the  Moorish  kings,  and  though  not  admitted  to 
equal  rights  with  the  Mussulmans,  lived  at  least  under  a  tolerant 
policy,  which  did  not  prohibit  them  from  the  performance  of  their 
religious  rites,  nor  interfere  with  the  observance  of  their  manners 
and  customs.  According  to  this  tradition,  the  first  emigration 
took  place  so  early  as  in  1390,  led  by  the  chief  Rabbi  of  Sevilla, 
Simon  Ben-Smia.  When  he  and  his  fellow  exiles  landed  on  the 
African  coast,  the  Rabbi  entreated  Sidi-Ben-Jussuf,  a  celebrated 
Marabut  of  Miliana,  for  an  asylum,  which  was  readily  granted. 
It  is  even  said  that  the  Arab  Chief  and  the  Hebrew  Rabbi  drew 
up  a  formal  agreement,  guaranteeing  the  rights  of  the  new  comers. 
Xhe  Rabbis  of  Algiers  assured  me  that  this  deed  is  still  kept  in 
the  principal  synagogue  of  the  city.  Under  the  reign  of  the 
fanatical  Philips  of  Spain,  the  Jewish  emigration  quietly  increased 
and  the  Jews  extended  slowly  all  over  Barbary.  We  find  them 
now  in  all  the  towns,  even  in  the  oases  of  the  Sahara.  The 
Jewish  dragoman  (interpreter)  Ben-Amran,  in  Mascara,  who,  as 
a  boy,  had  with  his  father  accompanied  the  expedition  of  a 
Turkish  Bey  to  Ain-Maadi,  assured  me  that  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  Jews  live  even  in  that  remote  and  small  desert  state,  but 
that  they  have  adopted  the  Bedouin  costume.  There  are  Jews 
in  Tuggurt  and  Gadames,  and  even  in  the  Mozabite  republics ; 
and  it  is  said  that  some  of  them  dwell  in  the  villages  of  the  Ama- 
zighs,  in  the  mountains  of  Morocco.  Everywhere  they  are  toler- 
ated, but  only  as  a  subordinate,  despised,  and  oppressed  race, 
useful  in  its  low  sphere,  and  on  which  even  the  Mohammedan 
beggar  can  vent  his  insolence. 

It  appeared  to  me  that  the  Jews  of  Algeria  are  superior  in  bodily 
strength  to  those  of  Europe.  Particularly  in  Constantine,  I  saw 
handsome,  well-built  men  among  them,  similar  to  the  Moors,  but 
not  so  fat.  Their  physiognomy  has  more  of  the  marked  Eastern 
type  than  that  of  the  Turks  and  Moors.  The  females  surpass  in 
beauty  the  Jewesses  of  Europe;  when  young,  they  have  a  slender, 
graceful  figure,  a  fine  complexion,  and  soft  features,  which  they 


188  THE  JEWS. 

retain  nearly  up  to  their  fortieth  year,  though  without  the  noble 
expression  of  their  youth.  Towards  thirty,  they  usually  become 
rather  stout. 

The  costume  of  the  Jews  resembles  in  its  cut  that  of  the  Moors, 
but  they  never  exhibit  bare  calves  ;  they  cover  them  with  stock- 
ings. The  colour  of  their  attire  is  always  dark  :  even  their  turban 
is  black.  During  the  time  of  the  Turkish  dominion,  this  colour, 
an  abomination  to  the  present  Moslems,  was  forced  upon  them  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  believers.  The  attire  of  the  young 
Jewesses  is  uncommonly  pretty.  They  wear  a  long  robe, — the 
wealthy  of  silk,  the  poor  of  wool,  without  sleeves,  but  richly 
embroidered  on  the  chest  with  gold  and  silver.  The  arms  are  only 
partly  covered  by  the  loose  sleeves  of  the  fine  white  muslin  shirt. 
Around  the  hips  they  bind  a  silk  scarf,  by  which  the  robe  is 
made  closely  to  fit  the  waist,  and  to  show  the  form  of  the  body 
to  the  greatest  advantage.  They  put  their  bare  feet  into  em- 
broidered slippers,  and  throw  a  silk  shawl  on  the  head,  which  does 
not  entirely  hide  the  long,  flowing  tresses.  The  hair-dress  of  the 
married  women  is  highly  curious:  it  is  a  kind  of  cap,  woven  of 
silver  thread,  two  feet  high,  surrounded  by  a  long  floating  gauze 
veil,  which  often  reaches  the  ground ;  it  is,  in  fact,  tlie  exalted 
horn  to  which  the  prophets  allude.  The  face  of  the  Jewess  is 
always  unveiled:  a  strict  law  of  the  Deys  formerly  enforced  this. 
But  from  the  time  of  the  downfal  of  the  Turkish  dominion,  the 
Jews  enjoy  equal  rights  with  the  other  inhabitants;  the}'^,  there- 
fore, and  their  wives,  can  live  and  dress  entirely  as  they  please, 
but  the  former  restrictions  have  entered  so  deeply  into  their 
manners  and  customs,  that  even  now  they  cling  to  them.  The 
males  continue  to  wear  dark-coloured  clothes,*  and  the  females 


♦  The  learned  author  seems  to  forget  that  in  Eussia,  Poland,  and  Hungary, 
■where  there  are  no  laws  about  the  costume  of  the  Jews,  they  likewise  wear 
black  clothes ;  black  having  always  been  their  favourite  colour.  Yellow  is  an 
abomination  to  the  Jew;  it  is  the  colour  of  the  fire-worshippers  and  Sabajans  of 
ancient  Persia,  Assyria,  and  China.  Black  is  not  at  all  distasteful  to  Moslems  I 
it  was  the  court-colour  of  the  Turkoman  tribes,  and  of  the  Abasside  Khalifs  ; 
even  the  veil  in  the  sanctuary  of  Mv.cca  which  hangs  over  the  Kaaba  is  black. 


THE  JEWS.  189 

remain  unveiled,  though  the  Jews  have  now  more  reason  to  be 
jealous  than  they  had  before.  As  to  the  younger  generation,  it 
has  to  a  great  extent  accepted  the  European  dress. 

On  the  whole,  the  manner  of  life  of  the  Jews  resembles  that  of 
the  Moors.  They  dwell  in  modest  houses  of  Moorish  architec- 
ture; they  live  frugally,  are  fondofkuskusu  and  coffee;  and  above 
all,  of  hard  cash.  As  everywhere  else  in  the  world,  they  also  here 
do  not  care  for  agriculture,  and  few  of  them  are  mechanics.  Yet 
there  are  sailors  among  them,  and  shoemakers,  tinners,  goldsmiths, 
but  especially  swordsmiths,  who  manufacture  very  handsome  arti- 
cles, such  as  yatagans  and  daggers  with  silver  sheaths  and  orna- 
ments in  relievo.  The  great  majority  of  them  are  traders;  but  in 
the  present  day,  they  can  no  longer  make  advantageous  jobs  as 
they  were  wont  to  do  in  the  time  of  the  Deys,  when  nearly  all  the 
wholesale  business  was  concentrated  in  their  hands.  As  often  as 
the  Dey  intended  some  great  speculation,  he  always  turned  first  to 
the  Jews,  who  used  to  act  as  brokers,  not  only  between  the  Moham- 
medans and  Christians,  but  even  between  Bedouins  and  Moors.  This 
has  now  ceased  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  Jews  encounter  consider- 
able competition  from  the  numerous  busy  European  speculators, 
who  surpass  them  both  in  cupidity  and  avariciousness,  though  the 
former  have  the  advantage  of  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
Arabic  language. 

Many  Bedouins,  bringing  their  cattle  or  wheat  to  market, 
employ  the  Jew  as  a  broker,  and  refuse  to  sell  without  his  media- 
tion. When  such  an  Arab  arrives  in  town,  he  is  immediately 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  importunate  Jews,  who  obtrude  their 
services  with  loud  noise.  Each  of  them  pretends  to  have  arrived 
the  first;  one  takes  the  bull  to  be  sold  by  the  ears,  the  other  by 
the  tail;  they  quarrel,  and  often  come  to  blows,  whilst  the  Arab 
remains  an  undisturbed  looker-on  of  the  contest,  without  saying 
a  word,  but.  always  paying  honestly  the  broker  who  really  gets  a 
buyer  for  him.  The  activity  of  the  Jews,  enhanced  by  their  lov« 
of  lucre,  begins  in  early  youth.  The  market-place  of  Algiers  is 
daily  fidl  of  industrious  little  Jews,  who  ofifer  their  services  to 


190  THE  JEWS. 

buyers  and  sellers — now  act  the  interpreter,  then  again  carry  the 
bought  wares  after  the  buyer.  Nearly  all  the  poor  Jewish  boys 
are  boot- cleaners.  Hundreds  of  them  are  roving'  through  the 
streets,  with  their  blacking-box  under  their  arm,  addressing  any 
passer-by  who  happens  to  have  dusty  boots.  Many  young  Jews 
have  taken  service  with  European  merchants  :  all  of  them  speak 
French  perfectly;  some  of  them  likewise  write  it  remarkably  well. 
The  schools  open  to  all  the  natives  are  frequented  almost  solely 
by  Jews ;  and  their  talents,  desire  of  knowledge,  and  progress  in 
study,  is  really  astonishing.  The  ever-busy  industry  of  that 
people  forms  a  great  contrast  to  the  apathy  of  the  Moors,  to 
whom  the  Jews  are  superior  in  every  mental  faculty  except  in 
courage. 

I  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  the  manners  of  the  Jews, 
since  their  houses  are  open  to  foreigners,  and  European  guests  are 
frequent  at  their  feasts.  One  of  my  friends.  Dr.  Trubelle,  had 
many  Jewish  patients,  and  took  me,  at  my  request,  to  their  houses. 
Thus  I  became  acquainted,  and  at  a  later  time  I  repeated  my 
visits.  Young  Jewesses  do  not  go  out  in  the  streets,  from  their 
thirteenth  year  to  their  marriage,  without  peculiar  necessity. 
This  is  a  requirement  of  the  traditional  etiquette.  Whoever,  there- 
fore, has  no  access  to  private  families,  remains  wholly  unac- 
quainted with  the  lovely  figure  of  the  Jewish  girls,  just  in  their 
most  interesting  age.  Those  who  are  seen  in  the  streets  are  always 
of  questionable  reputation.  Yet  the  Jewesses  in  Algiers  are 
wrongly  charged  with  immorality;  only  some  of  the  poorest  are 
unable  to  withstand  the  temptation.  On  the  whole,  the  houses  of 
bad  repute  are  peopled  rather  by  French  and  Moorish  girls  than 
by  Jewish  ones.  The  Jewesses  of  the  wealthier  classes  are  modest 
and  virtuous,  though  they  do  not  hide  themselves  before  the 
stranger  like  their  Mohammedan  sisters.  Their  virtue  is  so  much 
the  more  to  be  commended,  as  scarcely  anything  is  done  for  their 
moral,  religious,  and  mental  education ;  and  attempts  at  seduction 
are  nowhere  more  common  than  in  Algiers.  But  they  are  not 
devoid  of  natural  understanding,  and  of  the  gift  of  agreeable  con- 


THE  JEWS.  191 

versation.  They  often  become  intimate  with  a  Christian,  if  he 
behaves  well ;  but  they  do  not  tolerate  an  improper  word.  They 
are  thrifty  and  industrious ;  they  wash  and  sew  and  embroider 
under  the  eyes  of  their  mothers,  and  are  fondly  attached  to  their 
parents  and  relatives.  I  have  often  witnessed  the  most  affec- 
tionate care  for  a  poor  father  or  a  sick  brother.  The  treatment 
of  the  Jewesses  by  their  husbands  is,  on  the  whole,  good  here, 
though  they  are  kept  under  greater  restrictions  than  in  Europe. 

The  Jews,  as  compared  with,  other  natives,  are  less  sensual, 
and  equally  frugal  in  eating  and  drinking.  They  avoid  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  though  they  are  not  forbidden  to  taste  them  by  their 
religion,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Moslems.  Avarice  and  cupidity 
are  common  amongst  them,  as  amongst  the  other  races  of  Bar- 
bary ;  but  this  vice  is  with  them  less  dangerous  to  others.  The 
love  of  money  makes  the  Arab  a  robber,  and  the  Turk  an  oppressor; 
whilst  with  the  Jew  it  only  stimulates  his  commercial  industry  and 
his  spirit  of  speculation.  His  trading  activity  is  an  advantage  to 
the  other  races,  and  facilitates  intercourse ;  though,  on  the  other 
hand,  their  obtrusiveness  is  often  unpleasant,  and  their  meddling 
into  every  affair  most  mischievous.  The  Jews  of  Algiers  cling 
strictly  to  their  religious  ceremonies ;  but  they  are  not  fanatical, 
though  very  charitable  to  all  their  co-religionists.  The  Jews, 
fleeing  from  Belida,  found  food  and  shelter  with  their  brethren  in 
Algiers.  In  spite  of  their  fondness  for  trade  and  money,  they 
cannot  be  induced  to  transact  business  on  Saturday,  however  ad- 
vantageous it  may  be;  or  to  touch  coin,  were  it  even  glittering 
"  sultanis"  (gold  coin).  They  wear  their  best  attire  on  the  festive 
day,  go  with  their  richly- dressed  wives  three  times  to  the  "  gemaa" 
(synagogue),  and  hasten  thence  to  their  amusements.  They  have 
coffee-houses  of  their  own,  where  they  sometimes  dance,  and  are 
fond  of  a  music  which  is  yet  more  monotonous  and  tiresome  than 
the  Moorish. 

I  have  often  been  present  at  their  family  feasts.  The  girls  com- 
monly marry  at  from  thirteen  to  sixteen :  with  the  men,  the  age  is 
less  early ;  and  many  of  them  remain  bachelors  to  their  thirtieth 


192  THE  JEWS. 

year.  It  is  not  customary  with  the  Jews,  as  it  is  with  all  Moham- 
medans, for  the  man  to  pay  a  certain  sum  for  his  wife;  on  the 
contrary,  the  girl  brings  a  dowry,  and  the  richer  her  parents,  the 
greater  is  the  number  of  her  suitors.  AVhen  a'  girl  has  accepted 
a  ring  from  a  young  man,  she  is  betrothed  to  him ;  and  should 
her  parents  withhold  their  consent  to  the  union,  he  can  claim  the 
girl  as  his  legal  bride  from  the  chief  Rabbi,  the  so-called  Jew- 
King  ;  but  usually  he  is  satisfied  with  a  sura  of  money  as  a  com- 
promise with  the  family.  The  Rabbi  draws  up  the  marriage 
agreement.  The  festivities  begin  as  early  as  six  days  before  the 
marriage ;  all  the  kin  assemble  for  feasting  and  enjoyment,  but 
the  males  and  females  remain  separated.  On  the  marriage  morn- 
ing, when  the  bride  is  fully  adorned,  two  old  men  lead  her  by  the 
hand  to  the  house  of  her  future  husband,  followed  by  a  crowd  of 
friends  and  relations,  each  of  them  carrying  a  paper  lantern,  and 
yelling  incessantly  '-'•Yuh!  yuliV^  In  the  house,  the  Rabbi  recites 
a  long  prayer :  the  young  lady  receives  a  golden  ring  from  the 
hand  of  the  young  man :  the  guests  sit  down  in  the  hall,  and 
dishes  and  trays  and  tumblers,  filled  with  all  the  delicacies  of 
the  season,  are  handed  round,  whilst  music  is  sounding  and  danc- 
ing is  going  on.  At  midnight  the  crowd  leaves  the  house,  and 
the  young  pair  retire  to  the  fantastically-adorned  bridal  chamber. 
For  eight  days  they  are  expected  not  to  leave  the  house,  even  on 
business.  Polygamy  is  forbidden  among  the  Jews;  but  the  hus- 
band can  repudiate  his  wife,  if  he  has  reason  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  her ;  after  which  he  may  marry  another  wife. 

At  deaths  I  remarked  very  ludicrous  ceremonies.  All  the 
female  relatives  assemble  around  the  corpse,  and  yell  and  cry 
with  the  most  pitiful  accents.  They  do  it  in  turn  :  each  of  them 
has  her  peculiar  time  for  crying,  and  as  soon  as  she  is  relieved 
by  another,  she  becomes  as  composed  as  ever ;  occupies  herself 
with  her  regular  pursuits,  and  seems  not  to  think  any  more  about 
the  dead  until  her  hour  returns  again,  when  she  has  to  cry,  to 
yell,  and  tear  her  hair.  At  the  burial,  after  some  curious  cere- 
monies, some  pieces  of  gold  coin  are  thrown  to  a  distance,  and 


THE  JEWS.  193 

the  corpse  is  hastily  plunged  into  the  grave  and  covered  with 
earth.  The  Jews  gave  an  explanation  of  this  custom,  saying 
that  the  devil  is  lurking  around  the  dead  body  in  order  to  seize 
it.  When  the  corpse  is  to  be  laid  in  the  grave,  the  devil  must 
be  allured  elsewhere  by  gold ;  whilst  he  is  running  after  it,  the 
dead  is  housed  in  his  last  dwelling,  and  the  devil  is  cheated  of  his 
prey  I  The  tombs  of  the  Jews  are  very  handsomely  adorned  by 
monuments  of  white  marble.  On  the  30th,  90th,  and  330th  day 
after  death,  the  next  kin  of  the  deceased  visit  the  cemetery,  to 
pray  at  the  tomb,  and  to  kiss  the  grave- stone. 

The  Jews  were  an  ill-used  people  under  the  sway  of  the  Deys, 
and  suffered  under  the  insolent  arrogance  of  the  Mohammedans  of 
all  sects  and  races.  Such  is  still  their  position  in  Tripolis,  in 
Tunis,  and  especially  in  Morocco.  There  they  have  still  to  bare 
their  feet  before  every  mosque — peculiar  attire  is  forced  upon  them 
— they  are  not  allowed  to  ride  on  horses — have  to  wait  at  the  well 
until  the  last  Mussulman  has  filled  his  jar — nor  are  they  allowed 
to  make  use  of  the  Arab  alphabet ;  any  offence  against  those  re- 
strictions being  followed  by  punishment.  The  rich  Jew  was  not 
permitted  to  enjoy  his  wealth  in  the  days  o£  the  janissaries ;  he 
could  only  escape  extortion,  or  perhaps  death,  by  anxiously  con- 
cealing his  treasures,  which  he  commonly  hid  in  the  earth,  and 
did  not  dare  to  contemplate  or  to  count,  except  when  at  night- 
time the  thick  iron  bolt  was  drawn  across  his  door,  and  he  had 
no  other  witnesses  than  his  dim  lamp  and  his  own  pale  face.  On 
occasion  of  every  financial  pressure  of  the  Deys,  Beys,  or  Kaids — 
at  every  riot  of  the  unpaid  janissaries — at  every  foreign  war  which 
absorbed  the  regular  income,  the  government  did  not  resort  to 
the  iron  chests  in  the  vaults  of  the  Kasbah,  that  held  every- 
thing which  tyranny  had  extorted  during  a  long  series  of  years, 
but  to  the  wealth  of  the  Jews.  The  richest  of  them  w^ere  im- 
prisoned and  sentenced  to  death  upon  insidious  charges,  and 
constrained  to  forced  loans,  either  by  tortures  or  by  the  fear  of 
death. 

Since  1830,  the  Mohammedans,  when  exasperated  at  the  pro- 


194  THE  JEWS. 

gress  of  the  Christians,  have  always  vented  their  fur j  on  the  poor 
unoffending  Jews  who  lived  among  them.  When,  in  December 
1835,  the  army  of  Marshal  Clauzel  approached  the  city  of  Mas- 
cara, the  disbanded  Arabs  of  Abd-el-Kader  fell  upon  the  Jews, 
ill-treated  the  men,  violated  the  women,  and  plundered  the  shops. 
When,  in  1837,  the  French  army  appeared  before  Constantine,  it 
was  again  the  unhappy  Jews  who  were  forced  by  threats  and 
blows,  to  dig  the  trenches  under  the  fire  of  the  French  artillery, 
by  which  Ben-Aissa  had  hoped  to  check  the  progress  of  the 
enemy  after  the  breach  was  open.  The  victorious  armies  of 
France  were  always  liberators  to  the  Jews ;  but  these  men  had 
no  high  aspirations,  and  were  so  much  accustomed  to  the  yoke, 
that  they  have  not  shown  any  sign  of  gratitude  for  their  present 
security  and  liberty  ;  and  I  have  heard  more  than  one  Jew  regret 
the  times  of  the  Turks,  when,  in  spite  of  the  tyrannical  pressure, 
it  was  easier  for  them  to  earn  money  than  now. 

Tyranny  and  persecution  nowhere  oppress  this  hapless  race 
more  than  in  Morocco,  Fez,  Fezzan,  and  Mogador,  where  their 
number  is  considerable.  A  French  tourist,  speaking  of  the 
Moroccan  Jews,  justly  remarks  that  their  sufferings  do  not  awaken 
the  sympathy  and  compassion  of  any  nation,  and  that  this  is  the 
greatest  misfortune  of  that  race.  No  white  people  on  earth  have 
ever  been  more  shamefully  crushed,  and  yet  they  have  found 
fewer  protectors  among  philanthropists  than  the  heathen  Negroes. 
They  have  not  met,  amongst  nations  of  different  creeds,  with  a 
friend  who  would  take  them  by  the  hand.  Nor  did  the  tortures 
inflicted  upon  them  raise  their  bearing  into  that  of  martyrs. 
In  all  the  countries  of  the  world — among  Mussulmans  and  Chi- 
nese, among  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics — the  Jews  are 
looked  upon  as  a  foreign  plant  which  has  no  root  in  the  country, 
and  which  is  tolerated  only  from  motives  of  interest.  The  Jew  is 
therefore  homeless  everywhere :  he  does  not  care  for  the  well- 
being,  the  independence,  or  the  glory  of  the  nations  with  whom 
he  dwells.  Any  country,  or  dwelling-place,  be  it  the  most  dirty 
town  of  Africa,  is  acceptable  to  him,  provided  he  can  there  earn 


THE  NEGROES.  195 

money.  He  meekly  bears  oppression  and  insult :  there  is  in  history 
no  other  instance  of  such  degradation  of  a  people,  which  accounts 
for  the  popular  prejudice*  that  an  everlasting  curse  is  attached  to 
the  descendants  of  Israel,  which  has  scattered  them  all  over  the 
world,  which  does  not  allow  them  to  become  a  nation  again,  which 
makes  them  everywhere  the  object  of  scorn  and  abhorrence  ;  for 
even  the  poorest  and  most  miserable  serf  amongst  those  who 
differ  from  them  in  creed  would  not  exchange  his  lot  with  that  of 
the  richest  Jew.-}-  The  spirit  of  oppression,  inherent  in  so  many 
religious  sects,  accounts,  to  a  great  extent,  for  the  degradation  of 
the  Jews.  But  a  great  deal  of  the  fault  lies  with  the  Jews  them- 
selves, who  have  everywhere  yielded  to  tyranny  with  the  patience 
of  the  wretch  who  never  armed  himself  with  a  single  spark  of  en- 
thusiasm when  he  had  occasion  to  raise  himself  from  his  miserable 
condition  ;  and  who,  instead  of  risking  life  and  property  for  his 
deliverance,  rather  submits  to  his  fate  with  almost  a  stoical  pas- 
siveness  and  endurance. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    NEGROES. 

The  number  of  Negroes  in  the  sea-ports  of  Algeria  is  by  no  means 
small.  There  are  free  blacks  and  slaves  amongst  them.  But 
the  latter  live  in  a  kind  of  voluntary  servitude  to  their  Moham- 
medan masters,  as  the  French  Government  does  not  acknowledge 
slavery  in  Algeria,  and  has  prohibited  the  sale  of  Negroes.     The 

*  The  German  Doctor  is  too  unjust  against  the  Jew  :  in  the  United  States, 
in  Hungary,  in  England,  he  did  and  does  care  fer  the  well-being  of  his  country ; 
and  it  is  the  prejudice  which  caused  the  degradation,  not  the  degradation  the 
prejudice. 

t  Of  course  all  this  does  not  apply  to  the  Jew  merchant-kings  of  England, 
the  United  States,  Holland,  and  France,  and  the  capitals  of  Germany ;  still  it  is 
true  in  the  rural  districts  of  tliose  countries,  and  all  over  Italy,  Kussia,  Spain, 
and  Turkey. 


196  THE  NEGROES. 

natural  increase  is  slow,  the  climate  of  Barbary  not  being  favour- 
able to  it.  Most  of  them  have  been  brought  by  land  from  Sudan, 
the  minority  was  carried  by  sea  from  the  shores  of  Guinea  to 
Morocco,  and  were  from  thence  imported  to  Algeria. 

All  the  blacks  whom  I  saw  in  Algeria  were  very  ugly.  The 
forehead  is  strongly  receding ;  their  hair  is  short  and  woolly ;  the 
nose  broad  and  flat ;  the  mouth  large ;  the  lips  thick ;  and  the 
chin  protruding.  The  women  are  still  less  attractive  than  the 
men,  owing  to  the  tattooing  by  which  they  disfigure  their  faces. 
A  peculiar  smell  renders  their  presence  disagreeable  to  a  Euro- 
pean. The  colour  of  their  «kin  differs  in  its  shades :  full  black 
Negroes  are  seldom  to  be  met  with ;  they  are  commonly  of  an 
ashy  hue,  and  sometimes  yellowish.  Though  some  of  them  are 
of  muscular  frame,  their  legs  are  usually  very  lean.  In  the  towns 
they  wear  thiC  Moorish  costume  :  those  who  live  in  the  encamp- 
ments adopt  the  Arab  haikh  and  burnus.  The  women  walk  about 
unveiled. 

The  Negroes  conform  themselves  to  the  habits  and  the  mode  of 
living  of  the  people  amongst  whom  they  dwell.  In  the  towns 
they  live  like  the  Moors ;  in  the  country  like  the  Bedouins. 
Very  few  of  them  are  rich :  the  majority  live  by  daily  labour. 
The  Negro  women  cook  scanty  meals  in  the  open  market  for  the 
labourers,  and  sell  bad  unleavened  bread  to  the  Bedouins  and 
Biskris.  Some  of  the  wealthier  blacks  possess  country  houses, 
and  cultivate  gardens  ;  others  have  enlisted  in  the  French  ranks. 
The  slaves  of  the  rich  Moors  or  Turks  are  very  mildly  treated : 
they  are  in  fact  servants,  and  not  slaves  ;  and  we  find  them,  in 
general,  greatly  attached  to  their  masters.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  the  women,  of  whom  rich  Moorish  ladies  often  possess 
half  a  dozen.  These  women  willingly  share  the  fate  of  their 
mistress,  whatever  it  may  be.  When,  at  the  storming  of  Con- 
stantine,  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  attempted  to  save  themselves 
by  scrambling  over  the  rocks,  the  Negresses  tore  their  clothes  and 
tied  the  pieces  together,  that  their  mistresses  might  use  them  as 
ropes  to  escape  over  the  cliffs.     In  the  house  of  Ben-Aiss^,  the 


THE  NEGROES.  197 

corpse  of  a  young  Negress  was  found,  who  had  fallen  bravely  fight- 
ing, pistol  and  yatagan  in  hand.  The  Mohammedans  have  no  pre- 
judice against  colour  and  amalgamation.  In  Algeria,  I  know  of 
several  Moors  married  to  Negresses,  and  the  Mulattoes  sprung 
from  such  marriages  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  legitimate  children. 

The  Negroes  of  Algeria  do  not  lack  intelligence.  They  have 
little  difficulty  in  acquiring  languages,  but  they  do  not  speak  them 
correctly  :  the  Mulattoes  are  far  more  clever  in  this  respect.  The 
blacks  are  the  buffoons  of  Algeria.  Whenever  a  public  festival 
takes  place  during  the  Bairam,  as  well  as  on  the  birth-day  of  the 
Emperor  of  France,  they  act  as  the  harlequins  of  the  people. 
They  make  music  with  drums  and  iron-rattles,  and  perform  gro- 
tesque dances  in  the  streets  with  the  most  comical  gestures.  Danc- 
ing and  music  they  especially  enjoy. 

I  found  the  Negroes  generally  good-natured,  and  I  cannot  agree 
with  the  opinion  of  those  who  represent  them  as  cruel,  and  de- 
lighting in  the  tortures  of  their  fellow-beings :  on  the  contrary,  as 
regards  freedom  from  fanatical  hatred,  and  cunningly  devised  ill- 
treatment  of  enemies,  they  far  excel  the  Kabyles  and  Arabs.  For 
those  whom  they  love,  they  readily  undergo  every  sacrifice,  and 
they  keep  better  faith  than  any  other  African  people.  The  imme- 
diate body-guard  of  Abd-el-Kader,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Sultan 
of  Morocco,  consisted  accordingly  of  Negroes.  The  black  Spahis, 
in  the  French  army,  are  second  only  to  the  Turks  in  the  courage 
with  which  they  expose  themselves  to  fire :  they  always  used  to 
carry  the  banners.  The  colour-bearers  of  the  Arabs  are  likewise 
commonly  blacks,  who  often  displayed  remarkable  bravery  by  ad- 
vancing close  to  the  ranks  of  the  French  riflemen.  A  rare  instance 
of  Negro  heroism  occured  at  the  storming  of  Algiers.  When,  after 
the  fearful  bombardment,  the  Turkish  garrison  retreated  from  the 
Emperor's  fort,  the  Dey  sent  a  Negro  to  throw  a  match  into  the 
powder-magazine,  and  thus  to  blow  up  the  citadel.  The  Black 
faithfully  obeyed  the  order  of  his  master,  and  was  buried  beneath 
the  ruins. 


198  THE  MOZABITES. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    MOZABITES, 

The  Mozabites,  or  Beni-Mozab,  are  as  yet  little  known,  but  they 
are,  from  their  character  and  manners,  a  very  interesting  people, 
inhabiting  three  oases  of  the  Sahara.  A  few  hundreds  of  them 
have  settled  in  Algiers.  Their  origin  is  very  uncertain;  but 
several  hypotheses  have  been  advanced,  any  of  which  may  be  cor- 
rect. According  to  their  own  traditions,  their  ancestors  did  not 
always  dwell  in  the  Desert,  but  many  years  back  they  inhabited 
a  mountainous  country  far  to  the  east,  from  whence  the  blue  sea 
could  be  seen.  Leo  Africanus,  a  learned  Moorish  author,  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  who  lived  in  the  sixteenth  century,  tells  us 
that  the  Canaanites,  expelled  by  Joshua,  emigrated  to  Africa,  and 
settled  there.  The  same  author  says,  that  Malek  Afriki,  several 
centuries  later,  'headed  a  large  emigration  of  Sabsean  Arabs  to 
Africa;  and  it  is  singular  that  the  Jews  seem  likewise  to  believe  in 
a  double  immigration  of  Asiatic  nations  to  Barbary.  Up  to  the 
present  day,  they  call  the  Kabyles  Palestines  and  Philistines, 
identifying  them  with  their  enemies  of  old  in  Canaan ;  and  their 
Rabbis  believe  that  the  Mozabites  are  the  descendants  of  the 
Moabites,  the  ancient  neighbours  of  Israel,  the  offspring  of  Moab, 
the  son  of  Lot.  Their  language  is  different  from  that  of  the  Ka- 
byles, but  it  is  said  that  there  exists  some  affinity  between  them. 
The  emigration  of  Moab  to  Africa  is  explained  by  the  persecu- 
tions of  that  tribe  in  the  latter  time  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy.  It 
is  singular  that  there  is  still  a  tradition  among  the  Arabs  of  the 
incestuous  origin  of  the  Mozabites,  which  subjects  them  to  many  a 
joke  and  many  a  sneer.  The  Biblical  Semitic  names,  Ben-Saram, 
Ben-Elara,  Ben-Salef,  Ben-Jobab,  are  often  found  among  them, 
and  the  peculiar  exclusion  of  the  Mozabites  from  the  mosques  of 
Algiers,  though  they  are  Mohammedans,  reminds  us  of  the  old  law 
of  the  Hebrews,  which  excluded  Moab  from  the  community  of  God. 


THE  MOZABITES.  199 

All  particulars  ivnown  about  the  modern  Mozabltes,  or  Beni- 
Mozab,  are  based  on  the  oral  communications  of  the  renegade 
Baudouin,  whom  I  found  still  resident  in  Algiers  in  1836.  As 
far  as  I  know,  he  was  the  only  European  who  ever  has  visited  the 
oase  states  of  that  interesting  people.*  He  had  an  uncommon  talent 
for  acquiring  languages,  had  accompanied  a  Marabut  through  a 
great  part  of  the  Regency  of  Algiers,  and  had  learned,  besides  the 
Arabic,  likewise  the  languages  of  the  Kabyles  and  of  the  Moza- 
bites.  He  spoke  the  latter  so  well  that  the  Mozabites  in  Algiers 
took  him  for  one  of  their  countrymen.  He  proved  that  he  really 
had  for  a  long  time  lived  in  Gherdaia,  the  most  important  town  of 
the  country  of  the  Beni-Mozab,  by  a  circumstantial  description 
which  he  gave  to  the  Mozabites  at  Algiers  of  their  native  town, 
and  of  their  kinsmen.  Baudouin,  who  was  born  near  Marseilles, 
and  taken  prisoner  by  the  Arabs  in  1831,  had,  up  to  the  year 
1836,  roved  through  the  interior  of  Barbary ;  and,  to  my  regret,  re- 
mained only  a  few  months  in  Algiers  after  his  return.  He  had 
become  entirely  savage,  not  indeed  in  mind,  but  in  his  manner  of 
life,  and  could  no  longer  reconcile  himself  to  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Europeans.  He  again  disappeared  towards  the  end 
of  1836,  and  has  never  been  heard  of  since. 

The  three  oases  of  the  Mozabites  form  a  federative  republic. 
They  have  little  to  fear  from  a  foreign  attack,  since  they  live  at  a 
great  distance  from  the  Tell  (the  cultivable  region  of  the  Kobla 
or  Belad-el-Jerid),  and  love  enthusiastically  the  independence  of 
their  country.  Besides,  their  cities  are  fortified,  and  impregnable 
to  Arabs.  The  Turks  have  sent  expeditions  against  other  oase 
states  of  the  Sahara — for  instance,  against  Ain-Maadi  and  Tug- 
gurt — but  they  never  dared  to  approach  the  country  of  the  Beni- 
Mozab.  Even  Abd-el-Kader,  who  had  extended  his  conquests 
much  farther  south  than  the  Turks,  did  not  threaten  Gherdaia, 
though  in  1836  he  went  as  far  as  to  the  Uad-el-Biadh,  and  had 
subjected  nearly  all  the  Bedouins  of  that  country.     The  dignity 

*  The  French  occupied  the  oases  of  the  Mozauites  in  1853. 


200  THE  MOZABITES. 

of  Marabuts  is  unknown  to  the  Mozabites.  Instead  of  them,  the 
Talebs  (doctors)  exercise  considerable  influence.  These  are  men 
who  can  read  and  write,  who  expound  the  Koran,  and  lead  a  pure 
and  virtuous  life.  They  are  not  fanatical,  like  the  Marabuts. 
They  have  not  to  preach  the  lad,  since  no  Christians  are  in  their 
neighbourhood ;  and  the  religion  and  customs  of  the  people  are 
not  threatened  in  any  way.  Besides  the  Talebs,  the  Mozabites 
have  likewise  Sheikhs  and  Kadis,  who  are  subordinate  to  the 
former,  and  possess  but  little  influence.  The  Sheikhs  combine 
with  their  civil  authority  likewise  a  priestly  office,  and  pray  in  the 
smaller  mosques,  whilst  the  Kadis  are  judges ;  but  the  dissatisfied 
party  is  always  allowed  to  appeal  from  their  decision  to  that  of 
the  Talebs.  I  was  told  by  Baudouin,  the  renegade,  that  in  no 
country  of  the  world  are  crimes  so  scarce  as  among  the  Mozabites. 
They  are  a  people  very  kind  and  pure  in  manners ;  they  do  not 
share  in  the  rapacity  of  the  Bedouin  of  the  Sahara,  and  they  respect 
property.  They  are  principally  occupied  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
gardens  and  orchards,  which  are  studded  with  date-palms.  They 
are  likewise  very  industrious  as  mechanics,  and  many  of  them 
carry  on  a  considerable  trade  with  Sudan  and  other  oases  of  the 
Sahara.  The  Mozabites  have  a  great  many  camels,  few  sheep, 
and  no  other  cattle.  The  chase  of  the  lion,  of  the  gazelle,  and  of 
the  ostrich,  are  their  principal  sports.  The  greatest  part  of  the 
ostrich  feathers  exported  from  Algiers  to  Europe  come  from  the 
country  of  the  Mozabites.  They  are  excessively  fond  of  social 
entertainments.  Between  the  village  of  Melika  and  the  city  of 
Gherdaia,  many  cofl'ee-houses  are  raised  on  the  banks  of  the  Uad- 
el-Biadh.  These  are  surrounded  by  palms,  under  the  scanty  sha- 
dow of  which,  crowds  of  guests  assemble  in  the  evening,  in  order 
to  enjoy  music,  to  listen  to  the  story-tellers,  or  to  indulge  in  harm- 
less chat.  The  females,  who  are  better  treated  than  any  other 
Mohammedan  people,  likewise  assemble  for  similar  purposes,  and 
enjoy  social  entertainments.  The  Mozabites  fall  easily  in  love. 
Elopements  are  frequent;  and  in  such  cases,  the  difierent  towns 
and  villages  sometimes  break  out  into  feuds,  which,  however,  are 


THE  MOZABITES.  201 

commonly  quelled  by  the  interference  of  the  Talebs.  In  spite  of 
the  amorous  character  of  the  people,  faithlessness  is  in  no  respect 
more  frequent  than  among  other  nations.  Though  the  Koran 
allows  them  to  marry  four  wives,  a  Mozabite  is  contented  wdth 
one,  at  least  until  she  becomes  old.  The  climate  of  the  Sahara 
is  not  favourable  to  the  fertility  of  the  females ;  many  of  whom 
die  in  child-birth.  In  the  oasis  Metlili,  there  was  at  one  time 
such  a  scarcity  of  females,  that  the  otherwise  peaceable  and  con- 
scientious inhabitants  made  an  expedition  against  the  Bedouin 
tribes  of  the  Beni-Amer  and  Beni-Luat,  who  live  about  a  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  north  of  them ;  and  whilst  the  majority  of  the 
men  of  these  tribes  had  gone  to  Medeah  with  their  camels  in 
order  to  buy  corn,  the  Mozabites  carried  away  about  one  hundred 
females.  The  Bedouins,  enraged  at  this  high-handed  robbery, 
requested  the  Bey  of  Titteri  for  assistance ;  and  as  he  refused  to 
send  his  troops  to  such  a  distant  region,  the  Beni-Amer  and  their 
allies  resolved  to  try  the  fortune  of  war,  and  to  attack  Metlili  at 
their  own  risk.  The  Taleb,  Ben- Aram  of  Gherdaia,  offered  his 
interference  as  mediator ;  for  though  the  Mozabites  had  no  occa- 
sion to  dread  war  with  the  Arabs,  yet  they  felt  the  injustice  of 
the  deed  committed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Metlili ;  and  as  their 
people  had,  until  that  time,  always  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
honesty  and  equity,  the  Talebs  of  Gherdaia,  Bonora,  and  Uaragla, 
resolved  to  force  their  fellow-countrymen  of  Metlili  to  return  the 
booty.  The  chiefs  of  the  Beni-Amer  themselves  had  appeared  in 
Gherdaia  with  presents  as  a  ransom  for  the  females ;  but  their 
gifts  w^ere  not  accepted,  and  Ben- Aram  led  his  army  against 
Metlili,  followed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Beni-Amer.  The  Mozabites 
of  Metlili  still  refused  to  restore  the  females,  and  took  the  field, 
determined  to  resist;  but  at  the  first  shots  the  captured  Arab 
females  rushed  between  the  fighting  warriors,  and,  like  the  Sabine 
women  of  old,  requested  their  fathers  and  husbands  to  sheath 
their  yatagans.  A  convention  followed:  the  married  Arab  women 
were  returned ;  the  girls  remained  with  the  Mozabites  of  Metlili, 
who  undertook  to  pay  damages  to  their  relatives.     This  happened 


202  THE  MOZABITES. 

about  fifty  years  ago ;  and  the  high  opinion  which  the  Arabs  had 
always  entertained  of  the  wisdom,  justice,  and  energy  of  the  Mo- 
zabites,  was  farther  enhanced  by  this  incident.  Many  travel  singly 
with  sufficient  security  through  the  different  territories  of  the  Be- 
douin tribes,  between  their  country  and  Algiers,  though  the 
Arabs  refuse  to  acknowledge  them  as  tnie  believers.  They  are 
however  looked  upon  as  heretics,  and  are  therefore  excluded  from 
the  mosques. 

Amongst  no  people  in  the  old  world  do  the  ideas  of  freedom  and 
equality  pervade  public  life  more  thoroughly  than  amongst  these 
republicans  of  the  Sahara.  The  comparatively  few  officials — the 
Talebs,  Sheikhs,  and  Kadis — are  elected  at  public  meetings, 
where  universal  suffrage  is  unrestrictedly  exercised.  There  are 
so  few  ambitious  men  among  them  longing  for  such  dignities, 
that  it  often  happens  that  the  elected  official  flees  suddenly  from 
his  city,  not  to  be  compelled  to  accept  office ;  but  commonly  he  is 
pursued,  and  constrained  to  accept  the  dignity  bestowed  upon  him. 
This  curious  custom,  related  by  the  Mozabites  living  in  Algiers, 
and  confirmed  by  the  renegade  Baudouin,  is  explained  by  the 
circumstance  that  these*  republican  offices  are  not  connected  with 
any  sufficient  remuneration ;  and  while  the  power  of  these  officials 
is  very  restricted,  and  they  do  not  enjoy  their  former  independence 
whilst  in  office — for  they  are  not  allowed  to  trade,  to  travel  with 
caravans,  or  to  hunt  the  ostrich  in  the  Desert — it  is  easily  to  be 
conceived  that  the  Mozabite,  who  is  as  fond  of  personal  freedom 
as  he  is  of  national  independence,  does  not  covet  public  duties. 
Amongst  the  Talebs,  it  is  always  the  eldest  who  is  chairman,  but 
without  enjoying  any  higher  authority  than  the  others.  Some  of 
them  exercise  greater  influence;  but  this  is  the  consequence  of 
higher  personal  esteem,  earned  by  an  exemplary  life,  or  accorded 
in  consequence  of  peculiar  popularity.  The  office  of  the  Talebs  is 
not  hereditary,  like  that  of  the  Marabuts :  it  is  only  by  election 
that  the  son  may  succeed  his  father.  Simplicity,  frankness,  meek- 
ness, piety  without  fanaticism,  calmness  blended  with  energy, 
intelligence  and  industrious   habits,  distinguish  this  interesting 


THE  MOZABITES.  203 

people  of  the  Republic  of  the  Desert,  which  is  probably  one  of 
the  happpiest  tribes  in  the  world. 

The  Mozabites  dwelling  in  Algiers  carry  on  continual  inter- 
course with  their  countrymen;  they  have  the  monopoly  of  the 
mills,  baths,  and  slaughter-houses.  They  have  enjoyed  this  privi- 
lege from  the  time  of  the  celebrated  expedition  of  Charles  V.  At 
that  crisis,  the  JNIozabites  sent  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  the 
Turks,  which  aided  them  in  repelling  the  Emperor.  The  Moza- 
bites obtained  this  monopoly  from  the  gratitude  of  the  Turks,  and 
make  much  money  in  consequence.  Their  costume  is  scarcely 
different  from  that  of  the  Arabs :  their  face  is  sun-burnt,  their 
features  are  interesting :  the  expression  of  the  eye  is  melancholy 
and  enthusiastic :  their  physiognomy  is  on  the  whole  soft.  They 
are  much  liked  by  the  whole  population  on  account  of  their  peace- 
able life ;  but  I  remarked  that  they  are  rather  exclusive  towards 
Mohammedans,  and  prefer  to  hold  social  intercourse  with  their 
countrymen ;  yet  they  often  converse  with  Europeans,  and  seemed 
to  like  them  better  than  the  Arabs  or  Moors. 


PART   III. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  REGENCY  OP  ALGERIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

NORTHERN  AFRICA,  FROM  THE  EARLIEST  EPOCH  TO  THE  LANDING  OF  THE 
TURKS  IN  ALGERIA. 

The  historians  of  antiquity  give  us  only  a  few  uncertain  facts 
about  the  aborigines  who  originally  inhabited  Northern  Africa 
from  the  Syrtis  to  the  Atlantic.  These  were  the  Getulians  and 
Libyans,  rude  savages,  who  lived  on  raw  meat  and  the  herbs  of  the 
field.  We  have  mentioned  already  the  traditions  current  about 
the  first  immigration :  Persians,  Armenians,  and  Medes,  according 
to  Sallust ;  Canaanites  and  Arabs,  according  to  Procopius  and  Leo 
Africanus. 

Later,  it  was  the  Phoenicians  who  occupied  the  coast  of  Nor- 
thern Africa,  and  founded  many  cities  about  1500  b.  c.  :  Utica, 
Hippo,  Hadrumetum,  Leptis,  and  Carthage.  The  Phoenicians  did 
not  extend  their  sway  towards  the  Desert,  but  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  the  coast  from  the  Syrtis  to  the  Columns  of  Hercules,  trad- 
ing with  the  tribes  of  the  interior  and  of  the  coast  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. A  colony  of  Lacedsemonians  had  established  itself 
east  of  the  Phoenician  settlements,  in  the  Pentapolis  Cyrenaica, 
now  called  Jebel  Akdar.  The  Numidiana  and  Moors  of  the 
interior  were  at  that  time  divided  into  smaller  states,  were 
ruled  by  kings  independent  of  one  another,  and  often  involved 
in  bloody  contest.  When,  in  the  second  Punic  AVar,  the  Romans 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  Syphax  and  Massinissa  were  the 


REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  205 

mightiest  of  the  Numidian  chiefs ;  of  whom  Syphax  sided  with 
Carthage,  Massinissa  with  Rome.  The  former  were  defeated,  and 
the  dominions  of  Syphax  were  annexed  to  those  of  Massinissa. 

After  the  destruction  of  Carthage,  the  Romans  converted  its 
continental  domain  into  their  Provincia  Africa ;  but  the  power- 
ful Numidian  realm  in  the  interior,  governed  by  King  Micipsa, 
the  son  of  Massinissa,  was  a  formidable  rival  to  them.  They  had 
raised  up  its  might  in  order  to  check  Carthage;  now  they  no  longer 
needed  the  Numidian  alliance.  When,  therefore,  Jugurtha,  the 
nephew  of  Micipsa,  had  deprived  his  cousins  of  their  heritage,  the 
Romans  seized  this  opportunity  for  war,  pretending  to  avenge  the 
murder  of  Adherbal,  their  protege,  but  in  fact  in  order  to  get  pos- 
session of  Numidia — a  long-coveted  booty.  The  Roman  historian, 
Sallust,  has  described  the  Jugurthan  war.  His  work  is  a  highly 
important  document,  the  study  of  which  cannot  be  sufficiently  re- 
commended to  the  present  conquerors  of  Numidia.  It  character- 
izes the  epoch  and  the  country,  and  contains  very  interesting  and 
useful  disclosures  of  the  policy  and  tactics  both  of  the  Romans 
and  Numidians.  Jugurtha' s  way  of  carrying  on  the  war  greatly 
resembles  that  of  the  present  natives ;  and  the  faithlessness  of  the 
people  has  likewise  remained  the  same.  After  a  struggle  of  three 
years,  full  of  the  strangest  vicissitudes — in  the  course  of  which  an 
army  of  Rome  had  to  pass  under  the  yoke — Jugurtha  was  con- 
quered, and  at  last  taken  prisoner.  He  was  killed  by  cold  and 
starvation  in  a  stone  dungeon  in  Rome,  after  having  adorned  the 
triumph  of  his  victorious  enemy,  though  his  undaunted  energy 
deserved  a  better  fate.  His  realm  became  a  Roman  province,  with 
the  exception  of  one  portion,  bestowed  on  the  Moorish  king  Bocchus 
for  having  treacherously  delivered  up  Jugurtha,  his  ally,  to  Rome. 

The  empire  founded  in  Africa  by  the  Romans  was  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  flourishing  on  earth.  It  comprised  the  largest 
portion  of  the  present  Regency  of  Tripolis,  the  countries  of  Tunis 
and  Algiers,  and  the  great  empire  of  Morocco,  extending  from  the 
Libyan  Desert,  which  divides  the  two  Syrtes  from  Egypt,  up  to 
the  Atlantic.     Large  cities  were  built  all  over  that  country;  the 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ruins  of  which,  mighty  and  imposing  like  everything  bequeathed 
to  us  by  those  conquerors  of  the  world,  are  seen  in  the  most  re- 
mote wildernesses,  to  the  very  borders  of  the  Sahara.  Even  in  the 
almost  inaccessible  mountain-regions  of  the  Atlas,  we  meet  with 
such  remains.  South  of  Bujia  are  the  ruins  of  Sava  and  Musulu- 
bium,  which  have  not  been  seen  by  Europeans  for  a  thousand  years ; 
for  even  after  3  830  no  French  army  has  dared  to  advance  far  into 
those  mountain-fastnesses,  inhabited  by  the  most  warlike  and  most 
unruly  people  on  earth.  A  mighty  Roman  city,  Lambessa,  stands 
on  the  Auras  mountains,  not  far  from  the  border  steppes  of  the 
Sahara:  its  ruins  cover  considerable  ground,  and  are  of  great 
extent.  But  of  many  once  celebrated  cities  of  the  interior,  even 
the  traces  have  disappeared.  Scarcely  a  few  stone  heaps  mark  the 
site  of  Sitifis,  the  capital  of  Mauritania  Sitifensis. 

The  dominion  of  Rome  over  those  countries  has  something  mys- 
terious for  us.  The  Romans  had  there  no  garrison  of  100,000 
men,  as  the  French  of  our  days  have,  yet  they  held  the  country 
in  undisputed  and  complete  possession.  In  founding  this  mighty 
empire,  the  Roman  settlers  worked  for  their  descendants  as  well 
as  for  themselves,  since  they  undertook  great  enterprizes,  the  com- 
pletion of  which  One  generation  could  not  hope  to  see ;  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  immense  cisterns  and  aqueducts  of  Russicada,  Hippo, 
and  Cirta,  where  the  present  European  settlers,  the  publicans 
from  France  and  Malta,  build  only  frail  huts,  which  are  destroyed 
by  storms  and  rain  as  soon  as  the  number  of  their  drinking  cus- 
tomers falls  off  in  consequence  of  a  change  of  garrison,  and  the 
publican  colonists  leave,  seeking  elsewhere  their  temporary  pro- 
fits.* 

The  Numidians  were  driven  to  the  mountains  by  the  Romans, 
or  were  kept  in  strict  order  in  the  cities ;  they  therefore  became 
harmless  :  occasional  riots  were  easily  put  down.     Had  the  inse- 


*  The  learned  author  forgets  that  those  aqueducts,  theatres,  cisterns,  &c.,  were 
built  in  the  course  of  centuries.  Let  the  French  occupation  be  consolidated  hj 
half  a  century,  and  theatres,  and  market-places,  and  water-works,  will  again  rise 
in  Africa. 


REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  207 

cunty,  in  tlie  epoch  of  the  first  Roman  dominion,  been  only  half 
so  great  as  now,  the  Romans  never  could  have  built  large  cities 
on  the  border  of  the  Desert,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  population 
against  which  the  French  cannot  always  defend  their  corn-fields, 
even  close  to  their  camps,  within  reach  of  their  cannon.  I  saw 
temples,  amphitheatres,  circuses,  and  baths,  among  the  ruins  of 
Calama  and  Aruna,  which  indicate  a  peaceable  life  of  wealthy 
colonists,  fond  of  enjoyment. 

Under  Constantine,  Northern  Africa  was  divided  into  seven  pro- 
vinces :  Mauritania  Tingitana,  from  the  ocean  to  the  Malva 
(Moluiah),  which  up  to  our  days  forms  the  boundary  between 
Morocco  and  Algeria;  Mauritania  Csesarlensls,  east  of  the  Malva; 
Sitifensis,  up  to  the  River  Ampsaga  (now  the  Rummel) ;  Numldia, 
between  the  Ampsaga  and  Tusca  (Zaine),  which  divides  Algeria 
from  Tunis ;  Zeugitania,  from  the  Tusca  to  the  Cape  of  Mercury ; 
Byzaclum,  bordering  on  the  smaller  Syrtis,  in  the  west;  and 
Cyrenaica,  divided  by  the  Libyan  Desert  from  Egypt. 

When  the  Roman  empire  was  partitioned  under  Theodoslus, 
Egypt  and  Cyrenaica  were  given  to  the  Eastern  emperors,  whilst 
the  other  provinces  of  Africa  became  the  share  of  Rome.  Christi- 
anity had  soon  extended  to  North  Africa,  and  spread  so  rapidly, 
that  the  three  Mauritanias  contained  one  hundred  and  sixty  bishop- 
rics, ennobled  by  many  celebrated  men,  among  whom  we  may 
mention  principally  St.  Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo  Regius,  and 
St.  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  the  warlike  spirit  of 
Rome  began  to  decline,  and  feuds  and  treachery  among  the  chiefs 
accompanied  the  demoralization  of  the  effeminate  armies,  which 
could  no  longer  keep  the  field  against  the  vigorous  barbarians  of  the 
North.  In  428,  Bonifacius,  the  Roman  proconsul  of  Africa,  who  was 
to- be  deprived  of  his  command  by  the  intrigues  of  the  great  hero 
Aetius,  in  Rome,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  the  Emperor 
Valentinian;  and,  unable  to  maintain  himself  against  his  master, 
he  Invited  to  Africa  the  Vandals,  who  had  just  conquered  a  great 
portion  of  Spain.     Genseric,  the  Vandal  king,  a  fierce  barbarian 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE 

prince,  who  knew  how  to  keep  alive  Ae  spirit  of  conquest  with 
his  hordes,  landed,  in  May  429,  on  the  Moorish  coast  with  90,000 
men,  including,  besides  his  Vandals,  many  Alans  and  Goths, — all 
reckless  adventurers,  who  expected  rich  booty  in  the  thriving 
Roman  provinces  of  Africa,  which  had  not  been  ravaged  by  war 
for  many  centuries.  The  army  of  Genseric  was  reinforced  in  Africa 
by  many  Romans.  By  the  sect  of  the  Donatists,  which  had  to 
endure  the  most  severe  persecutions,  the  Vandal  king,  who  was 
an  Arian,  and  therefore  a  dissenter  from  the  dominant  church, 
was  hailed  as  a  liberator.  The  cowards  among  the  Donatists 
favoured  the  public  enemy  secretly :  the  enthusiasts  went  openly 
over  to  him.  Numerous  tribes  of  savage  Numidians  and  Moors, 
driven  by  the  Romans  into  the  inaccessible  mountain- fastnesses  of 
Mauritania  Tingitana,  came  down  from  the  woods  when  they 
heard  of  the  arrival  of  an  army  opposed  to  the  Romans,  and 
joined  the  foreigners,  with  whom  they  hoped  to  take  revenge  on 
their  oppressors.  Genseric's  army  grew  every  day,  and  crowds  of 
sun-burnt,  half-naked  savages  of  the  Atlas  were  seen  in  company 
with  his  fair-haired,  blue-eyed  German  warriors,  trampling  down 
the  crops,  destroying  and  sacking  the  cities,  and  drenching  the 
soil  with  Roman  blood.  It  was  too  late  for  Count  Bonifacius, 
now  bitterly  repenting  that  he  had  invited  the  dreadful  barbarians, 
to  resist  them  effectively.  He  was  defeated  under  the  walls  of 
Hippo  Regius,  and  the  seat  of  the  pious  Augustine  was  invested 
by  the  Vandals.  The  saint  died  in  the  third  month  of  the  siege : 
Providence  had  granted  him  to  close  his  weary  eyes  before  his 
heart  should  be  broken  by  seeing  his  cathedral  burnt  down, 
and  his  bishopric  dissolved.  Eight  years  after  the  fall  of  Hippo, 
Carthage  too  was  taken  by  the  Vandals,  and  Genseric  allowed 
his  troops  here,  as  everywhere,  to  give  vent  to  all  their  bad  pas- 
sions in  the  conquered  city.  A  certain  tendency  to  destructive- 
ness  is  inherent  in  all  armies,  even  in  the  best  disciplined  troops 
of  the  most  civilized  nations,  and  where  no  national  hatred 
envenoms  the  contest.  But  what  scenes  must  have  happened  in 
Africa  at  a  time  when  no  people  had  yet  divested  itself  of  its  ori- 


IIEG'.NCY  OF  ALGIERS.  209 

ginal  ferocity, — when  the  religious  fanaticism  of  the  long- perse- 
cuted Donatists,  and  ths  burning  desire  for  revenge  of  the  Numi- 
dians,  who  had  been  driven  from  the  country  of  their  ancestors 
into  the  mountains  or  to  the  Desert,  were  added  to  the  savage 
fury  of  Vandals,  maddened  by  encountering  a  fiercer  resistance 
than  they  had  anticipated  !  The  wanderer  of  our  days  gets  an  idea 
how  such  fierce  elements  must  have  raged  during  an  internecine 
war  of  ten  years,  when  he  travels  over  the  desolate  wilderness  of 
the  once  celebrated  granary  of  Rome,  and  visits  those  heaps  of 
stone  which  once  were  monuments  of  Roman  art.  Nearly  all 
which  the  Romans  had  created  during  a  series  of  centuries  perished 
either  in  that  ten  years'  war,  or  under  the  subsequent  sway  of  the 
Vandals,  which  lasted  for  ninety- six  years. 

The  dominion  of  the  Eastern  emperors  was  in  the  first  part  of 
the  sixth  century  once  more  established  in  Northern  Africa.  Jus- 
tinian sent  Belisarius,  his  celebrated  general,  with  an  army  to 
Africa.  They  landed  at  Cape  Capaudia,  west  of  Carthage.  The 
Vandals  had  in  the  mean  time  grown  effeminate  by  the  warm 
climate,  and  by  their  wealth :  the  bravery  and  adventurous  spirit 
of  Genseric's  followers  had  vanished  in  their  grandsons,  swallowed 
up  in  luxury  and  wantonness.  According  to  the  historian  Pro- 
copius,  who  was  the  companion  of  Belisarius,  they  enjoyed  the 
delicacies  of  the  table  offered  to  them  by  land  and  sea.  Their 
wide- flowing  silk  robes  were  embroidered  with  gold,  love  and  the 
chase  were  the  only  occupations  of  their  life,  and  their  leisure  was 
spent  in  pantomimes,  races,  music,  and  scenic  performances.  Such 
were  the  descendants  of  that  rough  warlike  people,  who  had 
cherished  the  sound  of  the  steel  more  than  the  sweetest  music, 
and  to  whom  every  sort  of  luxury  was  an  abomination.  The  city 
of  SuUicte  was  the  first  to  open  her  gates  to  Belisarius;  Leptis 
and  Hadrumetum  followed  the  example.  Gelimer,  the  Vandal 
king,  prepared  now  for  defence,  and  hastened  with  his  a^my  to 
the  rescue  of  Carthage;  but  he  was  defeated,  and  fled  to  the 
desert.  Belisarius  occupied  Carthage  on  September  15,  533.  The 
Vandals  fought  one  battle  more,  but  without  the  spirit  and  confi- 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE 

dence  of  victory,  and  were  accordingly  signally  beaten.  Gelimer 
fled  to  the  mountains,  and  had  there  to  endure  such  privations, 
that  when  summoned  to  submit  to  Justinian  by  Pharas,  the  chief 
of  the  Herulians,  he  requested  the  prince  for  a  lyre,  a  sponge, 
and  a  loaf  of  bread.  The  King  of  Africa  had  for  a  long  time  not 
tasted  bread :  with  the  sponge  he  wished  to  wipe  his  eyes,  which 
had  become  sore  by  tears ;  and  with  the  lyre,  to  comfort  his  hours 
of  sorrow  by  singing  the  history  of  his  own  pitiful  fate.  Misery 
no  longer  to  be  endured  forced  him  at  last  into  submission ;  he 
appeared  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Carthage  to  declare  himself  a  pri- 
soner of  Belisarius.  The  moment  the  king  beheld  his  conqueror 
he  burst  into  frantic  laughter :  it  was  a  fit  of  insanity.  Such  was 
the  end  of  the  Vandal  empire  in  Africa.  The  old  authors  are  not 
sufficiently  explicit  about  what  has  become  of  the  mass  of  the  con- 
quered people.  The  bravest  Vandal  youths  were  put  into  five 
cavalry  divisions,  which  had  immediately  to  leave  the  country,  and 
which  rendered  effective  service  to  the  Romans  in  Asia  in  the  war 
against  the  Persians.  Justinian  granted  large  property  to  the  ex- 
king  Gelimer  in  the  province  of  Galatia,  where  he  and  his  family 
and  friends  lived  in  a  quiet  way.  -But  the  majority  of  the  Vandals 
who  had  not  fallen  victims  of  the  war  found  probably  a  refuge  in 
the  mountains  and  the  wildernesses,  and  the  offspring  of  their 
intermarriages  with  the  aborigines  may  probably  be  the  origin  of 
the  present  Kabyles,  among  whom,  as  already  mentioned,  an  occa- 
sional white  complexion,  and  the  flaxen  hair  of  the  sons  of  the 
North,  may  be  identified  as  traces  of  Northern  descent. 

The  armies  of  Justinian  had  one  more  dangerous  enemy  to  en- 
counter after  the  defeat  of  the  Vandals,  namely,  those  Numidians  and 
Moors  who,  under  the  former  dominion  of  Rome,  had  kept  aloof  from 
the  coast  at  a  respectful  distance.  Under  the  less  energetic  sway 
of  the  Vandals,  they  had  sometimes  attacked  the  cities ;  they  had 
occupied  the  coast  from  Tingis  (Tangiers)  to  Csesarea  (Shershel), 
and  pitched  their  tents  even  in  the  fertile  province  of  Byzacium. 
After  the  departure  of  Belisarius,  they  attacked  the  new  con- 
querors at  different  points,  and  single  Graeco-Roman  corps  were 


REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  211 

defeated.  The  eunuch  Salomon,  who  had  succeeded  Belisarius 
in  the  command,  now  made  an  expedition  from  Carthage  into  the 
heart  of  the  country,  and  defeated  the  natives  in  two  great  battles, 
in  which  60,000  barbarians  are  said  to  have  been  slain.  He  ad- 
vanced to  Mount  Auras,  the  citadel  and  the  garden  of  Numidia, 
as  Procopius  calls  it,  and  built  a  fortress  on  its  highest  top  to 
keep  the  numerous  population  of  the  plateau  in  subjection.  Yet 
in  spite  of  this  fort,  the  Graeco-Roman  dominion,  which  lasted  up 
to  the  invasion  of  the  Arabs,  was  principally  confined  to  the 
coast,  especially  around  Carthage.  It  was  rather  a  military  occu- 
pation than  a  real  dominion  of  the  country,  since  the  old  Roman 
colonies  existed  no  longer,  and  no  new  emigrants  came  from 
Europe  to  till  the  waste  ground,  and  to  rebuild  the  destroyed 
cities.  The  savage  natives  had  nearly  everywhere  in  the  interior 
become  masters  of  the  country,  and  in  the  western  provinces  they 
had  occupied  even  the  coast.  In  Mauritania  Tingitana,  the  do- 
minion of  the  Romans  had,  on  the  whole,  always  been  less  firmly 
rooted  than  in- the  eastern  provinces;  the  rougher  mountains  and 
the  more  warlike  spirit  of  the  natives  made  the  progress  of  con- 
quest very  difficult. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  Mohammedan  Arabs  to  subdue  Barbary 
was  made  in  the  year  647,  when  40,000  Arab  warriors  crossed 
the  Desert  between  Egypt  and  Tripolis,  under  the  command  of 
Abdallah-ben-Said.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  near  Tripolis 
between  the  Arabs  and  the  Byzantines,  who  were  led  by  the  Pre- 
fect, Gregory.  The  Arabs  remained  victorious,  after  a  long  pro- 
tracted resistance  of  the  enemy,  especially  through  the  gallantry 
of  Zobeir,  who  killed  the  Greek  general  in  single  combat,  and 
who,  a  true  warrior  for  his  faith,  refused  even  the  price  put  on  the 
head  of  Gregory,  namely,  the  hand  of  his  beautiful  captive 
daughter,  and  one  hundred  thousand  gold  pieces;  declaring  that 
his  sword  was  devoted  only  to  the  service  of  his  religion,  and  that 
he  aspired  to  higher  recompense  than  all  that  the  charms  of  ter- 
restrial beauty  or  the  riches  of  this  transient  life  could  offer.  After 
this  dearly -bought  victory,  the  Mussulman  schemes  of  conquest  in 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  West  were  kept  in  suspense  for  nearly  twenty  years  by  the 
feuds  of  the  princes,  until  their  internal  dissensions  were  healed 
by  the  firm  establishment  of  the  house  of  Ommijah.  In  665,  the 
first  lieutenant  of  Moawiah  defeated  an  army  of  30,000  Byzantines : 
he  conquered  also  several  Numidian  cities,  and  got  immense  booty. 
Many  Greeks  thereupon  adopted  the  faith  of  the  conquerors  in 
order  to  escape  extortions,  being  well  aware  that  by  this  step 
they  entered  into  all  the  rights  of  the  Arabs, — a  concession  which 
was  always  made  by  the  Mohammedans  to  their  proselytes,  and 
by  which  the  cause  of  Islam  was  considerably  strengthened. 

The  first  real  conqueror  of  Barbary  was,  however,  Akbah,  who 
in  670  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of  10,000  fresh  troops  from 
Damascus,  selected  from  amongst  the  warmest  and  most  fanatical 
warriors  of  the  faith,  and  took  the  command  of  the  victorious  Arabs 
in  the  West.  Akbah,  whom  the  Mohammedan  historians  compare 
to  Alexander  the  Great,  conquered  the  majority  of  the  cities  on  the 
coast  from  Tripolis  to  Tangiers ;  he  founded  the  city  of  Kairoan, 
marched  through  the  mountain-fastnesses,  where  his  successors 
built  the  cities  of  Fez  and  Morocco,  and  reached  at  last  both  the 
coast  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  borders  of  the  Sahara.  The  course, 
but  not  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Mohammedan  hero,  was  checked  by 
the  view  of  the  boundless  plain.  Akbah  spurred  his  steed  into 
the  waves,  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  exclaimed :  "  Great 
Allah !  were  my  course  not  checked  by  this  sea,  I  would  proceed 
to  the  unknown  countries  of  the  West  to  preach  the  unity  of  thy 
holy  name,  and  to  cut  off  with  my  sword  the  rebellious  people  who 
adore  other  deities  than  thee."  Yet  this  enthusiastic  hero,  who 
sighed  for  a  new  world  to  subdue  it,  could  not  maintain  even  his  own 
immense  conquests.  The  defeated  Greeks  and  Africans  rose 
everywhere  in  his  rear:  he  had  too  rashly  proceeded  onward. 
Immense  wildernesses,  and  daring  enemies,  who  would  not  ex- 
change the  creed  of  their  fathers  for  all  the  alluring  promises  of 
the  new  faith,  separated  him  from  his  resources.  Akbah  could  not 
do  more  than  die  in  a  glorious  battle,  in  which  all  his  followers 
were  slain  to  the  last  man. 


REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  213 

When,  in  692,  the  restoration  of  the  internal  peace  of  the 
Khalifate  rendered  it  possible  for  Abd-el-Malek  to  turn  his  atten- 
tion once  more  to  the  conquest  of  Africa,  Hassan,  the  Governor  of 
Egypt,  got  the  command  of  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men. 
He  took  Carthage  by  storm,  and  sacked  the  city,  which  had 
always  risen  mighty  and  grand  after  the  frequent  disasters  which 
had  befallen  her,  and  which  even  now  yet  towered  above  all  other 
cities  of  Africa  by  her  wealth.  But  the  much-tried  city  of  Dido, 
the  old  empress  of  the  seas,  did  not  survive  the  last  desperate 
struggle  between  the  Cross  and  the  Crescent.  After  Hassan's 
victory,  the  Prefect  John  landed  in  Africa  with  an  army  of  Goths 
and  Greeks,  and  reconquered  Carthage.  But  a  new  Arab  host 
poured  forth  from  the  East.  A  battle  was  fought  at  Utica,  which 
decided  the  fate  of  Africa.  The  Greeks  and  Goths  were  com- 
pletely routed,  and  only  their  hasty  embarkation  saved  them 
from  the  scimitars  of  the  pursuing  Saracens.  Carthage  was  once 
more  stormed,  and  consumed  by  fire.  The  celebrated  city  which 
had  acted  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  world,  dis- 
appeared now  for  ever.  Her  old  rival  in  Europe  had  likewise  to 
bow  her  triumphant  and  haughty  head ;  her  walls  had  likewise 
been  stormed  by  barbarians,  who  defaced  her  noble  buildings, 
and  trod  into  dust  the  trophies  of  a  thousand  victories,  and  the 
bequests  of  millions  of  heroes.  But  Rome  has  always  retained 
a  shadow  of  her  greatness.  Even  when  she  had  lost  the  supre- 
macy of  the  sword  and  the  supremacy  of  genius,  she  remained  a 
sainted  spot,  to  which  religious  and  poetical  enthusiasm  constantly 
leads  crowds  of  devoted  pilgrims,  some  for  the  sake  of  the  holy 
water  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  others  for  the  sake  of  the  broken 
columns  of  the  Forum.  But  who  has  ever  thought  of  undertaking 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  the  city  branded  by  the 
hatred  of  her  enemies  with  the  charge  of  faithlessness,  and  never 
praised  by  the  song  of  any  poet  ?  and  her  ancient  splendour  has 
passed  without  leaving  any  trace :  there  is  not  even  a  broken 
column  to  mark  her  site.  On  the  few  mounds,  of  which  it  can- 
not be  said  with  certainty  that  they  really  designate  the  site  of 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Carthage,  there  sit  sonly  the  ragged  Bedouin,  inspecting  his  brows- 
ing camels ;  and,  at  night-time,  nothing  but  the  jackal  visits  the 
home  of  Hannibal  and  St.  Cyprian.* 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Byzantines,  the  Arabs  had  yet  many 
a  war  to  wage  against  the  Berbers  and  Moors.  The  natives 
offered  brave  resistance  under  the  banner  of  their  queen,  Kahina. 
Hassan,  the  Arab  commander,  had  once  more  to  retire  to  the 
frontiers  of  Egypt,  and  to  remain  there  inactive  for  five  years, 
until  he  got  the  promised  reinforcements  from  the  Khalif.  At 
last  they  arrived :  he  proceeded  again  onward  to  the  west,  and 
was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  who  had  less 
to  fear  from  the  Mohammedans  than  from  the  savage  natives 
of  the  interior ;  fi^nally,  he  defeated  the  Berbers  in  a  battle,  in 
which  their  prophet- queen,  Kahina,  was  slain.  Mussa-ben-Noseir 
completed  the  conquest  of  Africa  after  the  death  of  Hassan,  first 
by  arms,  and  then  by  persuasion.  This  great  man  was  as  eager 
to  get  souls  for  Islam,  as  he  was  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  the 
empire.  He  treated  the  conquered  natives  with  kindness :  he 
preached  the  Koran,  and  succeeded  first  in  converting  the  Moors, 
who,  under  the  Romans,  had  been  orthodox  Christians,  had  become 
Arians  under  the  Vandals,  and,  being  devoid  of  religious  fervour, 
had  little  objection  to  exchange  the  faith  received  from  their  for- 
mer oppressors  for  a  creed  which  gave  them  equal  rights  with  the 
conquerors.  It  was  more  difficult  to  convert  the  heathen  Kabyles. 
Yet  the  allurements  of  Islam,  which  have  a  peculiar  charm  to 
the  southern  mind,  did  not  remain  without  influence.  When,  in 
710,  the  first  Mohammedan  host  landed  on  the  shores  of  Spain, 
there  were  already  many  Berbers  under  the  standard  of  the  Pro- 
phet, eager  to  take  vengeance  on  the  Goths,  and  to  win  booty. 

The  successors  of  Mussa,  who  governed  Africa  in  the  name  of 
the  Khalif,  resided  in  Kairoan,  the  city  founded  by  Akbah.    They 

divided  the  Mohammedan -African  empire  into  provinces,  each  of 

jf         

*  The  harbour  of  ancient  Carthage  is  too  shallow  for  modem  ships.  That  is 
the  reason  Avhy  the  city  has  not  risen  again,  and  why  Tunis  supplants  her ;  but 
Tunis  is  so  near,  that  it  is  all  but  Carthage. 


REGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  215 

them  under  the  administration  of  a  Wali,  the  chief  of  the  civil 
and  military  offices.  The  provinces  were  divided  into  districts, 
governed,  as  they  are  up  to  this  day,  by  Kaids.  The  adminis- 
tration of  justice  was  in  the  hands  of  Kadis ;  the  Arab,  Kabyle, 
and  Moorish  tribes  had  their  own  Sheikhs,  whom  they  were 
always  permitted  to  elect.  Under  such  an  administration,  Africa 
remained  quiet  until  the  downfal  of  the  illustrious  house  of  the 
Ommiades,  when,  during  the  internal  struggles,  the  Kabyles  rose 
in  arms;  but  they  were  defeated  by  the  Arab  Governor.  In  750, 
Abderrahman-ben-Abib,  Governor  of  Kairoan,  made  the  first  at- 
tempt to  throw  off  allegiance  to  the  Khalifs;  but  he  was  murdered, 
and  the  Abasside  Khalif,  El-Mansar-Giaffar,  subdued  Africa  once 
more  by  his  general,  Yerid.  In  800,  however,  the  Governor, 
Ibrahim-ben- Aglab,  declared  himself  Independent,  and  Africa  was 
henceforth  lost  for  the  Khalifs.  Ibrahim  became  the  founder  of 
the  Aglabite  dynasty,  which  resided  in  Kairoan.  Some  of  the 
western  provinces  had,  about  the  same  time,  likewise  thrown  off 
their  allegiance ;  and  Edris-ben- Abdallah  founded  here  the  empire 
Moghrib-el-Aksa:  he  built  the  city  of  Fez,  and  became  the  founder 
of  the  Edrisite  dynasty :  his  later  successors,  however,  were  vassals 
of  the  Spanish  Khalifs,  and  reigned  up  to  985.  The  different  Arab 
dynasties  in  Africa  seldom  lasted  longer  than  a  century,  as  there 
always  appeared  in  the  frequent  internal  disturbances  successful 
generals,  who  dethroned  the  descendants  of  the  former  usurpers, 
and  founded  new  dynasties.  Yussuf-ben-Zeiri  founded  in  this 
way  the  dynasty  of  the  Zeirites  in  Kairoan  (972-1148),  which 
was  overthrown  by  Abd-el-Mumen,  the  successor  of  El-Mahiddin, 
who,  aided  by  the  Kabyles,  had  got  possession  of  a  great  portion 
of  Morocco  and  Oran,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Almohades. 
His  successors  were  the  lords  of  Western  Barbary  and  of  Spain. 
A  century  later,  the  Arabs  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Almo- 
hades, who  had  based  their  power  on  the  Kabyles;  and  in  1270 
even  Morocco  was  snatched  away  from  them  by^the  family  of 
the  Beni-Merin.  After  the  downfal  of  the  Almohades,  several 
smaller  kingdoms  arose  from  the  ruins  of  the  great  empire: 


216  «  HISTOllY  OF  THE 


^ 


among  the  rest,  Tlemsan,  Tunis,  and  Tripolis.  It  was  at  that 
time  that  the  new  Barbary  States  were  formed.  Tlemsan,  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Ben-Zian  (1295-1560),  comprised  the  greatest 
portion  of  the  present  Regency  of  Algiers ;  yet  the  cities  Algiers, 
Bujia,  and  Tenes,  formed  little  independent  states. 

The  reaction  of  the  Christian  nations  against  the  Mohammedan 
conquerors  began  likewise  at  that  period.  Saint  Louis  under- 
took an  expedition  against  Tunis,  where  the  Beni-Hafzi  reigned. 
The  Arabs  and  Moors  were  pushed  back,  and  at  last  were 
expelled  from  Spain.  The  Spaniards  invaded  Africa,  and  seized 
the  coast-forts  of  Ceuta,  Melilla,  Oran,  Bujia,  and  an  isle  near 
Algiers ;  whilst  the  Portuguese  landed  on  the  coast  of  Morocco, 
and  made  considerable  progress,  but  were  at  last  defeated  by  the 
Moors. 

Algiers,  as  already  mentioned,  formed  an  independent  state 
towards  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  which  was  tributary  to 
the  King  of  Tlemsan.  When,  in  1505,  the  Spaniards  had  taken 
possession  of  an  islet  near  Algiers,  the  Moorish  inhabitants  offered 
their  allegiance  to  Selim  Eutemi,  Emir  of  the  Metija,  under  the 
condition  of  aiding  them  against  the  Spaniards.  Eutemi  was  not 
strong  enough  to  expel  the  intruders ;  he  therefore  invited  the 
pirate,  Horuk  Barbarossa,  a  Sicilian  renegade,  to  come  to  Algiers 
with  his  brother  Khairaddin,  and  promised  him  a  considerable 
recompense  in  case  he  should  succeed  in  taking  the  occupied 
islet.  Horuk  had  already  possessed  himself  of  the  town  of  Jijeli, 
and  founded  there  a  pirate  den;  whence  he  used  to  sail  with 
his  galleys  into  the  Mediterranean,  and  attack  all  the  Christian 
traders.  He  had  a  numerous  retinue  of  freebooters — Turks, 
Moors,  Arabs,  and  European  renegades — and  was  the  terror  of 
all  the  Christian  coasts,  where  he  often  landed,  carrying  away 
booty  and  prisoners.  This  pirate-chief  came  now  with  a  few 
thousand  followers  to  Algiers.  Eutemi  met  him  in  triumph,  and 
housed  him  i%hi8  own  palace ;  but  the  dreadful  guests  behaved  as 
in  a  conquered  city.  Horuk  murdered  the  confiding  Eutemi  with 
his  own  hand  in  the  bath,  and  had  himself  proclaimed  Sultan  of 


KEGENCY  OF  ALGIERS.  »  217 

Algiers.  The  wealthiest  inhabitants  were  strangled  ;  the  others 
oppressed  by  heavy  taxation  ;  nobody  dared  to  stir ;  and  when  the 
wild  and  cunning  tyrant  passed  through  the  streets,  the  trembling 
inhabitants  hid  themselves. 

The  King  of  Spain  hereupon  sent  a  fleet,  with  ten  thousand  sol- 
diers, under  the  orders  of  Don  Diego  de  Verro,  to  expel  the  pirate- 
chieftain  from  Algiers ;  but  a  storm  dispersed  the  fleet,  and  cast 
some  of  the  ships  on  the  shore  :  the  wrecked  Spaniards  were 
cut  off,  or  captured.  Horuk  then  extended  his  empire  into 
the  interior,  defeated  the  King  of  Tenes,  and  annexed  his  little 
kingdom.  Thence  he  proceeded  against  Tlemsan,  and  was  rein- 
forced on  his  way  by  Moors  and  Arabs,  eager  for  plunder.  The 
King  of  Tlemsan  met  him  with  an  army,  but  he  was  routed  by 
Horuk,  and  slain  by  his  own  soldiers  on  his  flight.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Tlemsan  opened  their  gates  to  the  pirate,  and  received  him 
in  triumph ;  but  they  had  soon  reason  to  rue  their  public  joy : 
Horuk  renewed  here  his  Algerine  outrages,  had  many  inhabitants 
beheaded,  and  their  property  confiscated.  In  1517,  a  Spanish 
army,  under  the  command  of  the  Marquis  Gomarez,  advanced 
from  Oran  to  deprive  the  pirate-prince  of  his  new  conquest  of 
Tlemsan.  Barbarossa  was  besieged  in  the  citadel :  unable  to 
hold  out,  he  escaped  by  an  underground  passage ;  but  he  was 
overtaken  on  his  flight,  and  beheaded. 

When  these  tidings  reached  Algiers,  the  adventurers  who  were 
left  there  proclaimed  Khairaddin  Barbarossa,  the  brother  of 
Horuk,  Sultan  of  Algeria.  This  chief  was  as  savage  and  cruel 
as  his  brother,  but  he  did  not  think  he  could  alone  withstand  the 
Spaniards  ;  he  therefore  sent  an  embassy  to  Sultan  Selim  re- 
questing his  aid,  and  offered  to  put  his  realm  under  Turkish 
sovereignty  if  the  Sultan  would  invest  him  with  the  dignity  of 
Pasha.  Sultan  Selim  accepted  the  proposition,  and  sent  two 
thousand  janissaries  to  Algiers,  who  were  followed  soon  after  by 
further  reinforcements.  With  the  aid  of  those  troops,  Khairaddin 
reconquered  the  islet  occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  and  joined  it 
to  the  mainland  by  a  vast  dyke.     Algeria  became  in  this  way 


218 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION. 


a  Turkish  pashalik ;  and  Khalraddin,  who  soon  was  appointed 
Kapiidan  Pasha  (admiral)  at  Constantinople,  was  succeeded  by 
Hassan  Aga,  who  continued  with  success  the  piracy  established 
by  Horuk  Barbarossa,  and  became  the  scourge  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ALGERIA,FR0M  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION  TO 
THE  FRENCH  CONQUEST. 

The  Algerines  being  thus  assured  of  regular  reinforcements  from 
Turkey,  increased  their  piracy  so  much  that,  in  1541,  Charles  V. 
had  to  undertake  his  celebrated  expedition  against  the  mighty 
robber- state.  The  chivalrous  and  costly  enterprise  of  the  Em- 
peror, however,  was  wrecked  by  a  storm  which  destroyed  the 
greatest  part  of  his  fleet,  whilst  his  army  had  to  encamp  for 
several  days  on  the  hostile  coast,  without  shelter  and  without 
provisions,  incessantly  attacked  by  fanatical  Mussulmans.  The 
remains  of  the  unfortunate  army  embarked  again  at  Cape  Matifu, 
where  Admiral  Doria  had  assembled  the  remaining  ships.  The 
number  of  Christian  prisoners  was  at  that  time  so  great  at  Algiers, 
that,  as  the  Moors  relate  until  now,  a  slave  could  be  bought  for  an 
onion.  This  unlucky  expedition  took  place  under  the  second  Pasha, 
Hassan,  whose  remains  are  buried  in  the  mosque  of  the  gate 
Bab-a-Zun,  and  who  is  reverenced  by  the  Mohammedans  as  a 
saint.  He  was  a  lucky  chief,  and  shortly  before  his  death  he  had 
conquered  the  territory  of  Tlemsan. 

The  history  of  Algiers  under  the  successors  of  Khairaddin  and 
Hassan  presents  very  few  interesting  episodes.  The  Algerines 
carried  on  an  uninterrupted  war  in  the  Mediterranean  with  all  the 
Christian  powers.  They  often  captured  European  traders,  and 
landed  sometimes  on  the  coasts  of  Spain,  of  the  Baleares,  or  Sar- 
dinia, for  plunder,  and  the  kidnapping  of  white  slaves.  They 
were  likewise  in  Africa  always  involved  in  struggles  with  their 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  219 

neighbours,  though  there  they  had  no  enemy  of  the  faith  to  en- 
counter. The  Pashas  of  Algeria  had  already,  before  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  conquered  all  the  western  country  up  to 
the  river  Maluia.  Oran  alone  remained  in  possession  of  the 
Spaniards.  Bujia,  in  the  east,  which  had  been  occupied  by  the 
Spaniards  for  thirty-five  years,  was  likewise  stormed  in  1554  by 
Salha  Rais.  Southwards,  the  Algerines  extended  their  conquests 
to  the  Desert:  they  captured  Tuggurt  and  Wurgelah.  The 
Spaniards  often  tried  to  check  the  progress  of  the  pirate-state, 
but  all  attempts  failed.  In  1561,  a  Spanish  army  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  Count  d'Acaudate  was  destroyed  near  Mostaganem, 
and  twelve  thousand  prisoners  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Pasha  of 
Algiers.  In  1568,  the  Porte  invested  a  notorious  pirate,  Ali 
Fartaz,  with  the  Pashalik  :  he  conquered  Tunis,  and  subjected 
all  the  province  to  the  Porte.  His  success  on  the  sea,  however, 
was  so  great,  that  he  was  soon  called  to  Constantinople  for  a 
higher  dignity, — that  of  Kapudan  Pasha  (chief  admiral).  Another 
pirate-hero,  Menuni-Rais,  got  the  pashalik  in  1585.  The  Bar- 
bary  pirates  ventured  under  him  for  the  first  time  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  landed  on  the  Canary  Islands,  carrying  off 
plunder  and  slaves.  In  1660,  the  Algerine  militia  sent  a  deputa- 
tion to  Constantinople  with  the  request  to  be  allowed  to  elect  a 
Dey*  from  among  their  ranks,  to  have  equal  power  with  the 
Pasha,  and  to  provide  for  the  regular  pay  of  the  janissaries.  The 
deputation  carried  rich  presents  to  Constantinople,  and  the  request 
was  granted,  though  it  could  not  but  be  seen  that  collisions  would 
take  place  between  the  two  chiefs  which  must  result  in  a  rupture 
between  the  pirate- state  and  its  suzerain. 

When  the  corsairs  of  Algiers  began  to  extend  their  depreda- 
tions to  the  coasts  of  Provence,  Louis  XIV.  sent  an  expedition 
against  them,  which  in  1683  bombarded  Algiers  for  three  days. 
The  fleet  of  the  pirates  and  the  lower  part  of  the  city  were  de- 
stroyed ;  the  humbled  Dey  sued  for  peace,  and  delivered  up  all 

*  Dey  means  in  Turkish,  uncle,  and  was  originally  a  nickname  of  the  chiefs. 


220  ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINIOX. 

the  Christian  slaves.  This  peace  was  to  last  for  a  century,  but  it 
was  broken  in  three  years  by  the  Algerines.  A  new  fleet,  under 
the  command  of  Marshal  d'Estrees,  left  Toulon  in  June  1688, 
threw  ten  thousand  four  hundred  shells  into  the  robber-den,  burned 
six  men-of-war  to  the  water's  edge,  and  destroyed  a  great  portion 
of  the  city.  But  even  this  expedition  remained  without  lasting 
effects,  and  piracy  continued,  though  Algeria  once  more  concluded 
peace  with  France.  In  1708,  the  janissaries  seized  Oran,  which 
had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  for  one  hundred  years. 
This  happened  under  Ibrahim  Dey,  who  was  murdered  two  years 
later.  His  successor  was  Baba-Ali,  a  great  warrior,  but  a  savage 
man.  In  the  first  month  of  his  reign  he  had  seventeen  hundred 
persons  strangled,  in  order  to  strengthen  his  power.  The  Pasha 
having  been  opposed  to  his  election,  the  Dey  had  him  sent  back 
to  Constantinople,  and  threatened  him  with  death  in  case  he 
should  return.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  ambassadors  with  rich 
presents  to  Stambul,  and  made  the  proposition  to  the  Porte  no 
longer  to  name  a  Pasha,  but  always  to  invest  the  elected  Dey 
with  the  pashalik,  since  two  chiefs  with  equal  rank  could  never 
govern  the  country  without  collisions,  which  always  must  turn  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Dey,  who  can  rely  upon  the  militia  who  has 
elected  him  ;  whilst  the  Pasha,  a  fpreigner,  must  remain  isolated. 
The  Porte  felt  the  impossibility  of  governing  a  distant  country  of 
unruly  freebooters  under  the  form  of  a  pashalik,  and  granted  the 
request  of  Baba-Ali  merely  because  the  state  of  things  could  not 
be  altered.  From  that  time  the  Deys  were  in  fact  independent  of 
the  Porte :  they  made  war  and  concluded  peace  without  caring 
for  the  orders  of  the  Porte.  Not  even  tribute  was  paid  to  the 
Sultan :  the  robber- princes  were  too  haughty  and  too  rapacious. 
They  thought  it  sufficient  to  send  presents  at  every  new  election 
to  Stambul,  and  the  Porte  never  refused  to  confirm  the  elected 
Dey  in  his  dignity  as  Pasha.  The  real  independence  of  the 
pirate-princes  of  Algeria  begins  with  Baba-Ali. 

Under  the  Deys,  Algeria  was  a  kind  of  military  republic. 
After  the  death  of  their  chief,  the  Turkish  militia  assembled 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.         221 

before  the  palace,  and  began  to  shout  the  name  of  the  candidate 
who  was  to  succeed  the  deceased  Dey.  The  shouting  continued 
until  a  majority  decided  for  any  individual.  The  minority  were 
generally  brought  to  silence  by  intimidation  and  open  threats. 
But  the  election  often  resulted  in  bloody  scenes.  The  Dey- elect 
was  placed  upon  the  throne,  and  invested  with  the  kaftan  (tunic)  of 
honour ;  he  was  forced  by  circumstances  to  accept  the  dignity, 
however  disinclined  he  might  be,  since  to  decline  the  election 
would  have  been  j:he  signal  for  his  murder,  as  his  successor  would 
not  have  dared  to  spare  a  man  more  popular  than  himself.  After 
the  election,  the  red  flag  with  the  crescent  was  reared  on  the 
palace,  and  the  report  of  cannon  announced  the  fact  to  all  the 
neighbourhood.  The  new  Dey  had  to  take  an  oath  administered 
{o  him  by  the  Mufti ;  he  had  to  promise  the  maintenance  of  peace 
and  order,  and  guarantee  the  regular  payment  of  the  militia. 
All  the  superior  officers  and  officials  had  now  to  declare  their 
allegiance  by  kissing  his  hands.  But  it  often  happened  that 
even  before  this  ceremony  was  gone  through,  the  malcontent  party 
succeeded  in  creating  a  riot,  in  forcing  their  way  to  the  palace, 
and  murdering  the  new  Dey.  The  chief  of  the  rioters  clad  himself 
immediately  in  the  bloody  kaftan,  and  ascended  the  throne.  It 
happened  once  that,  with  a  nearly  equal  division  of  the  militia, 
seven  Deys  were  elected  and  murdered  in  succession  in  one  and 
the  same  day.  Their  tombs  are  yet  to  be  seen  before  the  gate 
Bab-el-Uad.  The  new  Dey  did  not  know  any  more  efficient 
means  for  strengthening  his  throne  than  terror,  and  nearly  every 
election  of  Deys  was  accompanied  by  executions ;  and  yet  their 
reign  seldom  lasted  long :  half  of  them  died  by  violence.  After 
all  the  blood  spilt,  after  all  the  sleepless  nights  of  jealous  dis- 
trust, the  moment  arrived  at  last  when  the  pale  tyrant  was 
dragged  by  his  own  conspiring  guards  through  the  galleries  of  his 
palace,  and  delivered  up  to  the  yatagan  of  the  Braham-Chaush 
(executioner). 

The  janissaries  filled  up  their  ranks  by  volunteers  enlisted 
yearly  in  Constantinople   and   Smyrna  from   among  the  lowest 


222  ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION. 

classes.  The  recruits  were  in  the  beginning  severely  treated, 
and  not  permitted  to  leave  the  barracks;  but  the  longer  they 
remained  in  the  country,  the  greater  became  their  privileges: 
their  pay,  too,  was  yearly  increased.  Married  Turks  had  full 
freedom;  they  dwelt  in  their  own  houses  together  with  their 
families ;  they  seldom  took  the  field,  and  had  nearly  no  service 
to  perform.  The  Kuruglis,  offspring  of  Turks  and  Mooresses, 
could  likewise  enter  the  militia,  but  they  were  only  exceptionally 
admitted  to  a  high  officer's  rank.  The  Turks  treated  them  with 
suspicion ;  the  Kuruglis  remained  in  a  subordinate  position,  though 
in  all  their  faculties  fully  the  equals  of  their  fathers. 

The  military  force  of  the  Algerine  Government  did  not  consist 
exclusively  of  Turkish  militia ;  there  were  many  individuals  in 
all  the  Arab  tribes  who  had  their  names  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of 
the  Deys  of  Algiers  as  irregular  cavalry,  and  formed  the  Makh- 
sen.  The  Arab  auxiliary  corps,  who  were  free  from  taxes,  had 
to  take  the  field  as  often  as  required,  and  were  regularly  paid 
when  in  the  field.  These  auxiliaries  were  of  great  use  to  the 
Turks  whenever  there  was  a  refractory  tribe  to  be  punished ; 
they  were  then  summoned  to  go  with  the  Turks  against  them, 
and  they  often  got  likewise  a  share  of  the  spoils. 

The  Dey  used  to  receive  advice  from  the  Divan,  or  Council  of 
State,  consisting  of  the  sixty  chief  officers  of  the  Regency.  This 
Board  had,  of  course,  the  greatest  influence  on  the  election  or 
deposition  of  the  Dey.  The  Khasnadji  was  prime  minister :  he 
had  to  administer  the  finances  and  the  home  affairs.  The  Agha 
was  minister  at  war:  he  commanded  the  Turkish  militia,  and 
exercised  the  power  of  life  and  death  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
the  capital.  The  Ukil-el-Hardji  had  to  provide  for  the  navy, 
and  was  at  the  head  of  foreign  affairs.  Khodja-el-Kril  was 
the  title  of  the  minister  of  the  crown  estates ;  and  the  Mahatadji 
was  the  chief  of  the  Khodjas,  or  clerks.  The  administration  of 
justice  had  two  chiefs :  the  Kadi-el-Haneji  was  judge  of  the 
Turks;  the  Kadi-cl-Maleki  presided  over  the  tribunal  of  the  Moors 
and  Arabs.     The  lianejites  and-  the  Malekites  are  Mohammedan 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  223 

sects,  differing  from  one  another  in  religious  ceremonies.  Above 
the  Kadis  stood  two  Muftis,  as  the  highest  clerical  authorities. 
The  Mufti- el- Hanefi^  or  Sheikh- el- Islam,  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant persons  in  the  time  of  the  dominion  of  the  Deys. 

The  State  of  Algeria  was  divided  into  four  provinces ;  and  it 
was  only  the  province  of  Algiers,  the  smallest  of  the  four,  which 
stood  under  the  immediate  authority  of  the  Deys.  The  other 
three — Constantine,  Titter?^  and  Oran — were  governed  in  the  name 
of  the  Deys  by  Beys,  who  levied  the  taxes,  commanded  the  war- 
contingents,  and  exercised  power  over  life  and  death  in  their 
provinces.  The  different  tribes  of  the  Arabs  and  Kabyles  obeyed 
their  Kaids,  who  were  appointed  by  the  Turks ;  whilst  the  Sheikhs, 
or  chiefs  of  the  villages,  were  elected  by  the  inhabitants  them- 
selves ;  nevertheless  they  had  to  be  confirmed  by  the  Kaid,  and 
w^ere  subordinate  to  him.  The  independent  Kabyle  tribes  south 
of  Bujia  had  likewise  Kaids,  but  they  were  elected  by  the  tribes. 
With  other  Kabyle  tribes,  this  dignity  was  hereditary  in  certain 
families :  the  chiefs  of  the  most  important  tribes — for  instance 
the  Zuauas  and  Beni- Abbes — called  themselves  Sultans. 

Such  was  the  organization  of  the  Regency  of  Algeria  during 
the  hundred  and  twenty  years  of  the  independent  sway  of  the 
Deys.  The  Porte  had,  since  1710,  when  its  Pasha  was  expelled, 
lost  all  its  influence,  and  derived  scarcely  any  advantage  from 
that  country,  which,  however,  belonged  nominally  to  her.  The 
history  of  Algiers  under  the  Deys  is  a  series  of  janissary  riots 
and  murders  of  the  Deys,  varied  by  several  expeditions  of  the 
maritime  powers  for  putting  down  piracy.  The  Spaniards,  in 
1732,  occupied  Oran  and  Mers-el-Keblr  once  more.  In  1775,  a 
Spanish  fleet  of  four  hundred  sail,  and  two  thousand  two  hundred 
soldiers,  arrived  before  Algiers,  under  the  command  of  Admiral 
Castljo  and  G  eneral  O'Reilly.  The  landing  was  easily  eflfected ; 
but  an  immense  number  of  Arabs  and  Moors  hastened  from 
the  interior  to  the  defence  of  the  capital.  A  sharp  action 
followed,  in  which  twenty  thousand  natives  are  said  to  have 
been  slain ;  yet  the  Spaniards  hastily  embarked  again,  and  left 


224  ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION. 

eighteen  hundred  wounded  soldiers  and  all  their  artillery  in  the 
hands  of  the  Algerines.  After  the  great  wars  of  the  present 
century,  when  the  large  fleets  had  disappeared  from  the  Medi- 
terranean, piracy  once  more  became  so  rampant,  that  the  English, 
who  until  now  had  not  come  into  so  many  collisions  with  the 
States  of  Barbary,  sent  in  1816  a  serious  expedition  against 
Algiers.*  The  Dey  of  that  period  was  Omar,  a  savage,  warlike 
Turk,  who  had  rejected  haughtily  the  summons  of  the  English  to 
give  up  piracy.  The  English  fleet  was  commanded  by  the  cele- 
brated Lord  Exmouth,  and  comprised,  after  the  junction  with  the 
Dutch  fleet  under  Admiral  Van  Der  Capellen,  five  ships  of  the 
line,  five  frigates,  and  four  bomb-vessels.  Lord  Exmouth  was 
on  board  the  Queen  Charlotte,  which  cast  anchor  on  the  26th 
of  August  1816,  so  near  to  the  pier  that  her  bowsprit  almost 
touched  the  first  houses  on  shore.  Omar  replied  to  the  summons 
of  the  Admiral  by  the  order  to  fire  upon  the  ships.  But  the 
English  line-of-battle  ships  opened  such  a  murderous  fire  upon 
the  crowds  on  shore,  who  had  assembled  to  view  the  defeat 
of  the  Christians,  that  they  were  immediately  scattered  asun- 
der: the  shells  and  rockets  pursued  them  into  the  town.     By 


*  Charles  Sumner  gives  the  following  description  of  the  American  expedition, 
which  had  preceded  the  English: — "  The  lawlessness  of  the  corsair  again  broke 
forth  by  the  seizure,  in  1812,  of  the  brig  Edwin,  of  Salem,  and  the  enslavement 
of  her  crew.  All  the  energies  of  the  country  were  at  this  time  enlisted  in  war 
with  Great  Britain ;  but  even  amidst  the  anxieties  of  this  gigantic  contest,  the 
voices  of  these  captives  were  heard,  awakening  a  corresponding  sentiment  through- 
out the  land,  until  the  Government  was  prompted  to  seek  their  release.  Through 
Mr.  Noah,  recently  appointed  Consul  at  Tunis,  it  oflfered  to  purcliase  their  free- 
dom at  three  thousand  dollars  a-head.  The  answer  of  the  Dey,  repeated  on 
several  occasions,  was,  that  "  not  for  two  millions  of  dollars  Avould  he  sell  his 
American  slaves."  The  timely  treaty  of  Ghent  in  1815,  establishing  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  left  us  at  liberty  to  deal  with  this  enslaver  of  our  countrymen. 
A  naval  force  was  promptly  despatched  to  the  Mediterranean,  under  Commodore 
Bainbridge  and  Commodore  Decatur.  The  rapidity  of  their  movements  and 
their  striking  success  had  the  desired  effect.  In  June  1815,  a  treaty  was  ex- 
torted from  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  by  which,  after  abandoning  all  claim  to  tribute 
in  any  form,  he  delivered  his  American  captives,  ten  in  number,  without  any 
ransom;  and  stipulated  that  hereafter  no  Americans  should  be  made  slaves,  or 
forced  to  hard  labour;  and  still  farther,  that  "  any  Christians  whatever,  captives 
in  Algiers,  making  their  escape,  and  taking  refuge  on  board  an  American  ship 
of  war,  should  be  safe  from  all  requisition  or  reclamaticn." 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  225 

evening  the  Algerine  fleet  was  destroyed,  the  fortifications  scat- 
tered, and  a  great  part  of  the  city  was  a  crumbling  ruin.  The 
English  had  likewise  suffered  much  by  the  land-batteries,  and 
their  loss  of  life  was  severe.  Omar  was  willing  to  continue  the 
struggle,  but  the  militia  forced  him  to  yield.  He  set  all  slaves 
free,  and  agreed  to  put  an  end  both  to  piracy  and  white  slavery. 
He  was  murdered  in  1817.  His  successor,  Ali  Dey,  formed  the 
scheme  of  making  himself  independent  of  the  janissaries,  and 
took  every  precaution  against  a  possible  outbreak.  He  trans- 
ferred his  residence  from  the  great  open  palace  in  the  centre  of 
the  city  to  the  fortified  Kasbah,  which,  built  on  the  highest  point 
of  Algiers,  served  as  a  citadel  to  keep  the  city  in  fear.  He  died 
of  the  plague  in  February  1818.  Hussein,  his  prime  minister, 
was  elected  in  his  stead,  the  last  prince  of  the  pirate  republic. 
It  was  under  him  that  the  famous  expedition  of  the  French  took 
place  in  1830. 

France  had  several  grievances  against  Algeria.  In  1818,  a 
French  brig  was  plundered  in  Bona,  and  the  government  of 
Algiers  refused  to  indemnify  the  owners.  In  1823,  the  house  of 
the  French  consular  agent  was  violated  by  the  Algerine  authori- 
ties, under  the  pretext  of  searching  for  smuggled  wares,  and  no 
satisfaction  was  given.  Roman  vessels,  sailing  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  French  flag,  had  been  taken  by  Algerine  corsairs. 
At  last  a  rough  insult  was  alleged  as  the  ultimate  cause  of  war, — 
the  way  in  which  the  Dey  had  treated  the  French  consul  publicly 
before  the  Divan.  Bakri,  a  rich  Jew  of  Algiers,  had  supplied 
the  French  commissariat  with  grain  at  the  time  of  the  expedition 
to  Egypt:  his  accounts  had  not  been  settled.  In  1816,  a  com- 
mission was  named,  in  order  to  sift  the  claims  of  the  Algerine 
creditor.  The  commission  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  claim, 
which  amounted  to  about  fourteen  millions  of  francs ;  but  that 
sum  was  reduced  by  consent,  in  1819,  to  seven  millions,  with  the 
stipulation  that  the  French  creditors  of  Bakri  were  first  to  be 
satisfied;  and,  in  fact,  several  of  them,  influential  persons  at 
court  and  in  the  chambers,  got  their  money.  But  the  principal 
p 


226 

creditor  of  Bakri  was  the  Dey  himself,  who  had  sold  to  him  a 
considerable  quantity  of  wool,  and  who  looked  upon  the  debt  of 
France  as  the  guarantee  of  his  debtor.  The  rumour  was  spread 
that  many  of  the  French  claims  which  had  been  paid  by  the  first 
instalment  were  fictitious,  and  Mr.  Deval,  the  French  consul  in 
Algiers,  was  suspected  of  being  in  secret  understanding  and 
partnership  with  some  of  the  French  claimants.  This  opinion 
prevailed  both  in  France  and  in  Africa.  The  Dey,  seeing  that 
the  value  of  Bakri's  guarantee  was  day  by  day  decreasing,  wrote 
an  autograph  letter  to  the  King  of  France.  The  letter  remained 
without  answer.  The  Dey,  therefore,  when  in  1827  he  publicly 
received  the  foreign  consuls  at  the  Bairam  feast,  asked  Mr.  Deval 
for  the  reason  of  that  silence.  The  consul  answered  in  words 
conve3"ing  the  idea  that  the  King  of  France  could  not  lower 
himself  so  much  as  to  write  to  a  Dey  of  Algiers.  At  any  rate, 
it  is  believed  that  Mr.  Deval,  either  from  his  deficient  know- 
ledge of  the  Arabic  or  from  hastiness  of  temper,  used  expressions 
offensive  to  the  Dey.  The  Moor,  Hamdan-ben-Othman-Khodja, 
who  was  present  at  the  scene,  assures  us  that  the  answer  of  the 
consul  was  literally  the  following : — "  The  King  of  France  does 
not  think  a  man  like  thee  worthy  of  an  answer."  The  Dey 
was  maddened  by  such  insulting  language ;  and,  with  a  fl^^flap 
which  he  just  happened  to  hold  in  his  hand,  he  slapped  the 
face  of  the  consul,  bursting  out  into  a  disrespectful  speech  against 
the  King  of  France.  Mr.  Deval  made  his  report  to  the  Govern- 
ment. It  was  M.  VillMe  who  at  that  time  stood  at  the  head 
of  the  ministry,  and  the  opposition  had  often  charged  him  with 
weakness  and  cowardice  towards  foreign  powers.  M.  Villele, 
therefore,  seized  the  opportunity  of  displaying  cheap  energy 
and  silencing  the  opposition.  He  declared  that  the  king  would 
take  revenge  for  such  an  insult;  and  the  blockade  of  the  har- 
bour of  Algiers  was  decreed,  but  it  remained  without  result.  The 
ministry  of  Polignac,  wishing  to  turn  the  attention  of  the  nation 
to  foreign  affairs,  and  believing  that  military  glory  might  blind 
the  French  to  the  restrictions  of  the  press  which  were  intended 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  227 

by  the  Government,  resolved  to  send  the  memorable  expedition 
to  Africa. 

On  the  25th  of  May  1830,  a  fleet,  consisting  of  a  hundred 
men-of-war,  amongst  them  eleven  line-of-battle  ships  and  twenty- 
four  frigates,  and  of  three  hundred  and  fifty- seven  vessels  hired 
for  transport,  weighed  anchor  from  the  road  of  Toulon.  It 
carried  an  army  of  thirty-four  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  men,  the  officers  included.  The  commander  of  the  fleet  was 
Vice- Admiral  Duperre,  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  best 
and  most  experienced  French  naval  officer.  The  army  was  led 
by  Lieutenant- General  Bourmont,  minister  at  war,  whose  prece- 
dents did  not  justify  the  nomination,  and  whose  name  could  not 
inspire  the  soldiers  either  with  confidence  or  with  courage,  neither 
of  which,  however,  was  deficient.  Many  of  the  officers  had  served 
in  the  wars  of  the  Republic  and  of  the  Empire,  and  were  accus- 
tomed to  enemies  more  terrible  than  the  undisciplined  hordes  of 
savage  Africans.  Besides,  the  army  had  always  been  honoured 
by  the  French  youth,  and  it  won  fresh  favour  when  they  saw  that 
it  had  a  nobler  task  than  the  dry  uniformity  of  drilling  and  bar- 
rack life.  Many  volunteers,  admirers  of  the  deeds  of  Napoleon, 
entered  the  ranks,  not  a  few  of  them  young  men  of  wealth  and 
education.  They  introduced  a  good  spirit  into  the  army,  and 
communicated  their  fresh  enthusiasm  even  to  the  more  rough  or 
apathetic  of  the  common  soldiers. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  June,  the  fleet  came  in  sight  of 
the  African  coast,  and  landed  on  the  sandy  shores  of  Sidi-Ferruh, 
thus  called  from  the  tomb  of  a  Marabut,  twenty-five  miles  west  of 
Algiers.  The  landing  began  on  the  14th  at  dawn,  and  every- 
body expected  a  considerable  resistance  from  the  enemy;  but  only 
a  few  hundred  mounted  Arabs  were  seen  in  the  distance,  who 
seemed  to  spy  the  movements  of  the  fleet.  Scarcely  was  the 
first  division  (under  the  command  of  General  Berthez^ne)  on 
shore,  when  it  marched  in  columns  against  the  enemy,  who 
had  taken  position  on  a  hill  at  about  half  an  hour's  distance 
from  the  sea,  and  had  covered  it  by  his  batteries.     They  opened 


228  ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION. 

fire,  but  could  not  check  the  advance  of  the  French.  At  that 
moment.  General  Bourmont,  who  hastened  onward  to  lead  the 
attack  himself,  had  a  narrow  escape ;  two  balls  fell  at  his  feet, 
and  covered  him  with  sand.  As  the  French  approached  the 
batteries,  the  janissaries  fled ;  all  their  artillery  was  taken  by  the 
victors. 

General  Bourmont  had  much  too  favourable  an  opinion  of 
African  tactics.  He  expected  to  have  to  encounter  a  cavalry 
similar  to  that  of  the  Mamelukes  in  Egypt.  He  had  even 
announced  to  the  army,  in  an  order  of  the  day,  dated  from  Palma, 
that  the  enemy  were  to  send  a  mass  of  camels  into  the  first  line  of 
battle,  with  a  view  to  intimidate  the  French  horse ;  but  only  a 
few  of  those  animals  were  seen  at  a  distance,  carrying  the  baggage 
of  the  Turks.  The  dreaded  African  cavalry  avoided  every  en- 
counter :  their  method  of  warfare  was  a  succession  of  skirmishes. 
The  horsemen  advanced  suddenly,  one  by  one,  stopped  their 
horses,  discharged  their  long  muskets,  and  rode  away  as  suddenly 
as  they  had  come,  in  order  to  charge  their  muskets  again  and  to 
repeat  the  manoeuvre.  The  Algerine  army  was  commanded  by 
the  son-in-law  of  the  Dey,  Ibrahim,  the  Agha  of  the  militia,  a 
man  without  capacity.  It  amounted  to  30,000  men,  one-fourth 
of  them  being  the  auxiliaries  brought  by  the  Beys  of  the  pro- 
vinces. The  Algerine  Turks  amounted  to  about  5000  men ;  the 
remainder  were  Arabs  of  the  Metija,  and  Kabyles  from  the  Jur- 
I'ura  mountain,  mostly  of  the  Flissa  tribe,  and  led  by  their  Kaid, 
Ben-Zamun. 

As  soon  as  the  army  had  taken  position  on  the  coast,  it  built 
a  fortified  camp,  as  the  over-prudent  Bourmont  did  not  dare 
immediately  to  attack  the  city.  Since  there  was  abundance  of 
green  trees  in  the  neighbourhood,  green  huts  and  halls  soon  rose 
by  the  industry  of  the  French  soldiers.  The  camp  looked  like 
a  city,  and  was  enlivened  by  merry  movement.  In  the  mean- 
time the  struggle  continued  uninterruptedly  at  the  outposts ;  the 
natives  had  a  superiority  in  skirmishing  over  the  French,  because 
their  muskets  were  of  a  longer  range ;   but  they  dreaded  the 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  229 

artillery,  especially  the  howitzers.  As  often  as  a  shell  exploded, 
the  crowds  of  horsemen  dispersed  in  all  directions. 

On  the  18th,  some  Arabs  came  stealthily  to  the  French  out- 
posts, and  disclosed  to  General  Berthez^ne  that  he  was  to  be 
attacked  on  the  next  day  by  all  the  forces  of  the  Dey.  One  of 
them,  a  Sheikh  of  the  Beni-Jad,  told  the  General  that  the  Arabs 
were  tired  of  the  war,  and  that  his  tribe  was  favourable  to  the 
French ;  he  himself  promised  to  pass  over  to  them  with  all  his 
followers.  This  promise  was  not  fulfilled,  but  the  predicted 
attack  really  took  place.  The  battle  was  stoutly  contested,  espe- 
cially by  the  Turks,  yet  the  natives  were  everywhere  routed,  and 
lost  many  men.  The  struggle  lasted  long,  for  General  Bourmont 
lingered  in  giving  the  order  to  attack.  At  last  he  mounted  his 
horse  and  gave  the  signal,  and  the  first  two  divisions  advanced 
rapidly  over  the  broken  ground,  covered  with  bushes.  The 
Algerines  fled ;  their  artillery,  camp,  and  baggage  was  taken,  and 
with  it  the  splendid  tent  of  the  Agha,  sixty  feet  long.  This  battle 
(called  that  of  Staueli,  from  the  name  of  the  plain  on  which  it  was 
fought)  cost  the  Dey  from  three  to  four  thousand  men  in  dead  and 
wounded ;  but  the  French,  too,  lost  six  hundred  men.  All  the 
natives  say  that  had  the  French  continued  the  pursuit  of  their 
routed  enemy,  they  could  have  immediately  taken  the  city,  as  the 
troops  iled  in  such  unruly  disorder  and  consternation,  that  nobody 
thought  of  a  serious  defence  of  the  gates.  But  Bourmont  remained 
faithful  to  his  system  of  prudence  and  slow  progress;  he  did  not 
advance,  and  remained  in  Staueli  up  to  the  24th  of  June. 

Ibrahim  Pasha,  the  commander  of  the  Algerines,  had  lost  his 
•wits  after  the  battle.  He  hid  himself  in  his  country-place,  and 
did  not  dare  to  appear  before  his  father-in-law,  who  sent  the  Moor, 
Hamdan-Ben-Othman-Khodja  to  him  to  cheer  him  up,  in  order  to 
collect  the  remnants  of  the  army.  In  the  mean  time  the  French 
entered  into  communication  with  one  of  the  Arab  tribes.  The  in- 
terpreter visited  even  one  of  their  encampments,  and  bought  some 
oxen.  The  Arabs  assured  the  French  again  that  they  felt  weary 
of  the  war,  and  were  ready  to  provide  the  French  camp  with 


230  ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMIKION. 

victuals,  if  protected  against  the  revenge  of  the  Turks,  and  prin- 
cipally, if  paid  in  cash.  The  French  promised  it;  they  were  not 
yet  aware  of  the  character  of  this  people,  and  put  more  trust  in 
those  overtures  than  they  deserved.  Bourmont  exhorted  the 
army  to  treat  the  Arabs  kindly  and  honestly,  as  they  were  on 
the  point  of  joining  the  French,  and  fighting  their  oppressors,  the 
Turks.  But  a  few  days  dispelled  the  delusion ;  on  the  24th,  a 
new  general  attack  was  made  on  the  French,  both  by  Turks  and 
by  Arabs,  who  thought  that  the  lingering  of  their  enemies  was  a 
sign  of  weakness  and  cowardice.  They  were  once  more  defeated, 
and  yet  the  undecided  Bourmont  did  not  allow  his  men  to  pursue 
the  enemy  to  the  city. 

The  French  army  was  occupied  in  building  a  solid  highway 
for  the  convoy  and  baggage- waggons.  The  generals  and  engineers 
were  so  little  accustomed  to  Arab  war,  that  they  went  forward 
only  with  the  greatest  prudence  and  circumspection.  A  few  years 
later,  the  most  wanton  rashness  succeeded  to  the  over- anxious 
system  of  tarrying.  Whilst  Bourmont  required  three  weeks  in 
summer  to  advance  twenty-five  miles  on  a  field  comparatively 
little  broken.  Marshal  Clauzel  undertook,  in  winter  1836,  an  expe- 
dition to  Constantine,  across  dangerous  mountain-ridges  and 
ravines,  without  having  had  the  path  reconnoitered.  On  the  28th, 
a  column  of  the  enemy  surprised  a  battalion  of  the  4th  light- 
infantry  regiment,  just  in  the  act  of  cleaning  their  muskets,  which 
they  had  unscrewed ;  and  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them, 
who  were  unable  to  make  any  resistance. 

On  the  29th,  the  army  advanced  and  occupied  the  heights  and 
slopes  of  the  Bujarea  mountain,  which  commands  the  city  and 
the  forts  of  Algiers.  The  resistance  of  the  enemy  was  not  very 
serious,  though  they  had  now  a  more  energetic  commander 
than  heretofore.  The  Dey,  convinced  by  the  failure  of  fhe  24th  of 
June,  of  the  incapacity  of  his  son-in-law,  had  given  the  chief  com- 
mand to  Mustapha-Bu-Mesrag,  the  Bey  of  Titteri,  a  courageous 
Turk.  The  trenches  were  at  last  opened  on  the  3d  of  July,  and 
Admiral  Duperre  appeared  on  the  same  day  in  the  roadstead  of 


ALGERIA,  UNDER  THE  TURKISH  DOMINION.  231 

Algiers.  On  the  4th,  the  French  batteries  began  their  fire  at 
once  against  the  "Emperor's  Fort"  and  the  Kasbah,  the  two 
principal  defences  of  the  city.  The  Turkish  batteries  returned 
the  shots  with  great  energy  for  four  hours.  When,  however,  the 
majority  of  their  cannons  were  dismounted,  and  the  walls  riddled 
by  the  balls,  the  fire  slackened,  and  was  silenced  towards  noon. 
The  Emperor's  Fort  was  evacuated,  and  Its  powder-magazine  set 
on  fire  by  order  of  the  Dey.  The  explosion  destroyed  all  the 
vaults  and  the  inside  walls.  A  few  French  companies  immediately 
rushed  forward  and  occupied  the  fort.  They  found  three  Turkish 
cannons  still  in  good  order ;  two  French  ones  were  carried  Into 
the  fort,  and  with  those  five,  the  fort  Bab-a-Zun,  on  the  shore,  was 
fired  upon,  and  its  batteries  silenced.  The  fleet  likewise  attacked 
the  fortifications  on  the  sea- side,  but  the  fire  made  no  Impres- 
sion on  account  of  the  distance. 

Great  consternation  prevailed  In  the  town  after  the  fall  of  the 
Emperor's  Fort.  The  inhabitants,  who  dreaded  the  capture  of  the 
city  by  storm,  and  the  disorder  and  outrages  usual  on  such  occa- 
sions, rushed  In  crowds  to  the  Kasbah,  and  with  great  noise 
demanded  that  the  Dey  should  capitulate.  Hussein  now  sent  his 
chief  clerk  to  General  Bourmont  with  the  promise  to  pay  the 
costs  of  war,  and  to  give  any  satisfaction.  As  the  French  General 
declined  that  proposal,  the  chief  clerk,  a  worthless  traitor,  as  were 
nearly  all  the  grandees  of  that  pirate  state,  offered  to  kill  his 
master,  saying  that  it  would  be  easier  to  treat  advantageously 
with  the  new  Dey.  But  the  French  General,  who  had  orders  to 
extinguish  the  domination  of  the  Deys,  rejected  those  proposals 
as  incompatible  with  the  honour  of  France. 

Hussein  Dey  hereupon  sent  the  Moors,  Achmet-Buderbah 
and  Hamdan-Ben-Othman-Khodja,  as  negotiators  to  General 
Bourmont.  Both  were  clever  and  cunning ;  they  had  lived  a 
long  time  In  Europe,  and  spoke  French  with  great  facility.  After 
a  negotiation  of  about  two  hours,  a  capitulation  was  brought  about, 
according  to  which  the  Kasbah,  and  all  the  forts  and  gates  of  the 
city,  were  to  be  delivered  to  the  French  army.     The  Dey  was 


232         ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

permitted  to  remove  from  the  country  with  his  family  and  his 
private  property  whither  he  pleased.  An  escort  was  to  provide 
for  his  safety.  The  same  concession  was  granted  to  the  Turkish 
militia.  On  the  other  side,  General  Bourmont  further  pledged 
his  honour  to  respect  the  Religion,  the  personal  freedom,  property, 
commerce,  and  industry  of  the  inhabitants.  Hussein  Dey  ac- 
cepted this  capitulation,  which  was  equivalent  to  an  abdication. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  the  French  entered  Algiers  as  victors ;  and 
their  white  flag,  which  soon  was  to  change  its  colour,  was  reared 
on  the  Kasbah,  and  on  the  Emperor's  Fort. 


CHAPTER  IH. 

ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   MARSHAL   CLAUZEL    AND   OF   GENERAL 
BERTHEZENE. 

On  the  day  after  the  capture  of  Algiers,  General  Bourmont,  who 
soon  after  received  the  marshal's  baton,  sent  a  column  to  Cape 
Matifu  to  take  possession  of  the  stud  and  herds  which  were  kept 
by  the  Dey  on  the  "  Haush  el  Kantara"  (now  maison  carree) 
and  Rassota,  two  important  crown- domains.  But  Ahmet,  the  Bey 
of  Constantine,  had,  on  his  return  to  his  province,  anticipated  the 
French :  he  had  plundered  those  two  establishments,  and  the 
French  found  nothing  but  bare  walls. 

The  army  remained  quietly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers  up 
to  the  23d  of  July.  The  destruction  of  the  luxuriant  gardens  and 
handsome  villas,  by  the  French,  took  place  in  that  time.  Nobody 
knew  then  whether  Algiers  would  be  retained,  and  nobody  cared 
for  its  future.  The  officers,  therefore,  remained  indifferent  when 
the  first  palms  and  orange- trees  were  felled  by  the  axes  of  the 
soldiers,  to  be  used  for  camp-fires.  Gangs  of  Frenchmen  broke 
into  the  neat  villas,  deserted  by  their  frightened  inhabitants,  and 
destroyed  even  the  walls  in  the  hope  of  finding  hidden  treasures. 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  233 

The  traces  of  this  Vandalism  are  not  yet  all  obliterated,  especially 
on  the  Bujarea,  where  we  often  suddenly  fall  in  with  modern 
ruins  in  the  midst  of  the  finest  gardens. 

Such  disorders  were  not  confined  to  the  encamped  army.  A 
much  more  shameful  charge  is  brought  against  the  superior 
officers,  who  were  quartered  in  the  public  buildings  of  the  city. 
The  rarities  of  the  Dey's  treasure  were  nearly  all  stolen.  The 
splendid  vases,  the  rich  arms — many  of  them  belonging  to  the  best 
period  of  Spain,  carried  off  by  the  pirates,  and  buried  in  the 
vaults  of  the  Kasbah — were  squandered  away  :  the  rich  plate,  of 
considerable  artistic  value,  was  melted  and  coined.  It  is  believed 
in  Algiers  that  many  superior  officers,  generals,  and  persons  of 
the  military  household  of  Marshal  Bourmont,  had  taken  part  in 
these  embezzlements.  Inquest  was  afterwards  made  into  the 
matter  by  a  commission,  but  the  report  has  never  been  published. 
Even  the  cash  of  the  Kasbah  was  said  not  to  have  reached  France 
without. serious  defalcation.  But  Pellissier,  a  conscientious  man, 
contradicts  this  rumour,  in  his  Annales  Algeriennes,  with  the 
greatest  positiveness. 

On  the  23d,  Marshal  Bourmont  made  an  excursion  into  the  in- 
terior with  a  small  column  of  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred 
men,  and  about  one  hundred  horsemen.  He  went  in  a  southern 
direction  towards  the  Atlas,  crossed  the  Sahel  and  the  Metija, 
and  encamped  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Belida,  where  he  was  well 
received  by  the  inhabitants.  Ben-Zamun,  the  Kaid  of  the  impor- 
tant Kabyle  tribe  of  the  Flissas  on  the  Jurjura  mountain,  a  man 
of  considerable  influence  on  all  the  surrounding  tribes,  had 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  French  commander-in-chief, 
and  had  offered  his  good  offices  for  bringing  about  an  understand- 
ing between  the  conquerors  of  Algiers  and  his  countrymen. 
When  he  heard  of  Bourmont's  intention  of  making  an  excursion 
nto  the  interior,  he  advised  him  to  delay  it  until  a  formal  treaty 
should  be  made  between  the  natives  and  the  French  in  regard  to 
their  mutual  intercourse.  But  Bourmont  did  not  care  for  Ben- 
Zamun' s  representations,  and  scarcely  deigned  to  give  him  any 


234  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

answer,  though  common  prudence  advised  to  treat  such  an  impor- 
tant man  with  more  respect. 

Curiosity  was,  in  fact,  the  only  motive  of  this  excursion.  But 
soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  column  at  Belida,  it  was  seen  by 
the  movement  of  the  Arabs  and  Kabyles,  assembled  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  that  an  attack  was  imminent.  The  care- 
lessly disposed  soldiers,  who  were  admiring  the  beautiful  scenery 
and  the  luxuriant  orange-gardens,  had  scarcely  time  to  take 
up  their  arms  :  a  captain  of  the  staff  was  killed,  and  the  column 
continually  harassed  on  its  retreat  towards  Buffarik.  Bourraont 
was  maddened  by  this  unexpected  hostility.  After  the  downfal 
of  the  Dey,  he  expected  to  find  the  whole  country  subjected, 
grateful  for  the  expulsion  of  the  tyrants ;  and  now  he  encoun- 
tered unprovoked  hostility.  Unacquainted  with  Arab  character, 
and  fancying  that  they  were  to  be  the  future  allies  of  France,  he 
thought  that  their  resistance  was  organized  by  the  Turks.  In 
consequence  of  this  mistake,  he  decreed  the  expulsion  of  all  the 
Turks  who  had  remained  in  Algiers  after  the  departure  of  Hus- 
sein-Dey.  It  was  a  most  serious  blunder,  ever  since  repented ; 
for  the  Turks  and  Kuruglis  proved  at  an  after  period  to  be 
the  only  reliable  support  of  the  French.  Those  who  remained 
in  other  .places  which  were  occupied  by  the  French,  fought  faith- 
fully and  gallantly  in  the  service  of  their  new  masters ;  but  they 
were  too  few  to  quench  the  powerfully-roused  enthusiasm  of  the 
Arabs  for  the  re-establishment  of  an  Arab  empire.  The  five  to 
six  thousand  Turks,  expelled  by  Bourmont  from  Algiers,  formed 
the  nucleus  of  the  Dey's  army,  and  they  alone  had  kept  the  coun- 
try in  subjection.  Conversant  with  the  character  of  the  Arabs 
and  Kabyles,  with  the  position  and  mutual  relations  of  the  tribes 
and  chiefs,  their  services  would  have  been  most  advantageous  to  the 
French.  By  their  support  and  instrumentality,  the  new  dominion 
could  have  been  extended  immediately  all  over  the  country,  and 
might  have  replaced  the  Turkish  sway  before  the  tribes  became 
conscious  of  their  power,  and  before  they  grew  familiar  with  the 
idea  of  an  Arab  empire.     But  instead  of  this,  the  country  was 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  235 

thrown  into  disorganization ;  the  former  officials  were  expelled,  and 
the  deeds  and  rolls  of  the  administration  thrown  away  in  the  con- 
fusion which  followed  the  capture  of  the  Kasbah.  The  provinces 
and  tribes  of  the  interior  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves,  and 
even  the  country  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  capital  was  only 
partially  cared  for.  The  natural  consequence  was,  first  anarchy, 
then  a  union  of  the  tribes  under  the  supremacy  of  the  mightiest 
and  most  fortunate  chief. 

Marshal  Bourmont  had,  even  before  his  excursion  to  Belida, 
sent  two  small  expeditions  by  sea  to  take  possession  of  the  cities 
Bona  and  Oran.  Both  corps  were  suddenly  recalled  at  the  tid- 
ings of  the  outbreak  of  the  July  Revolution.  The  troops  sent  to 
Oran,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Goutfrey,  had  not  even 
landed  when  they  received  the  counter- order.  But  Bona  had 
been  occupied  by  General  Damremont,  and  bravely  defended 
against  an  attack  of  the  Arabs.  However,  the  city  had  to  be 
evacuated  by  the  distinct  order  of  Bourmont. 

The  news  of  the  July  Revolution  was  brought  by  a  merchant- 
vessel  to  Algiers  on  the  11th  of  August.  Bourmont,  always  of 
an  undecided  character,  did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  would 
neither  attend  to  the  advice  of  some  enthusiastic  Legitimists  (such 
as  were  not  scarce  among  the  superior  officers),  who  wished  to 
embark  the  army,  and  to  carry  it  to  the  shores  of  La  Vendee,  in 
order  to  fight  there  for  Legitimacy ;  nor  did  he  yield  to  the  wishes 
of  those  who,  as  the  Generals  Lahitte  and  Tholoze,  insisted  upon 
the  necessity  of  not  bringing  the  army  into  collision  with  the 
majority  of  the  country,  and  thought  that  it  had  passively  to  obey 
whatever  government  France  chose  to  establish.  But  when  the 
details  became  known  that  the  triumph  of  the  Revolution  had 
nowhere  been  contested,  the  voice  of  the  junior  officers  rose  louder 
and  more  urgent  that  the  new  order  of  things  must  be  acknow- 
ledged, and  a  great  number  of  officers  were  about  to  proceed  to 
the  Marshal,  summoning  him  to  rear  the  tricolor  instead  of  the 
white  flag.  Bourmont  prevented  this  demonstration  by  the  pub- 
lication of  an  order  of  the  day,  dated  August  16th,  in  which  he 


236  ADMINISTRATIONS  OP  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

announced  to  the  army  the  abdication  of  Charles  X.  and  of  the 
Duke  of  Angouleme  in  favour  of  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux,  and  noti- 
fied that,  in  consequence  of  an  order  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  country,  the  white  flag  and  cockade 
were  to  be  replaced  by  the  tricolor. 

The  last  hours  of  command  were  embittered  to  the  General 
by  events  which  were  but  the  result  of  his  wavering  indecision. 
The  Arabs  of  the  interior,  seeing  that  the  French  did  not  stir, 
took  the  offensive,  advanced  towards  the  city,  and  blockaded  it 
Whoever  ventured  too  far  beyond  the  walls  was  pretty  sure  of 
being  killed.  This  happened  to  the  colonel  of  the  17th  regiment 
of  the  line,  and  to  several  other  officers  who  were  slain  close  to 
the  small  plain  of  Mustapha  Pasha.  Moreover,  Mustapha-Bu- 
Mesrag,  the  Bey  of  Titteri,  residing  in  Medeah,  who  had  first 
acknowledged  the  dominion  of  the  French,  now  declared  war 
against  them,  under  the  pretext  that  the  capitulation  was  broken 
by  the  expulsion  of  the  Turks. 

On  the  2d  September,  General  Clauzel,  who  had  been  entrusted 
with  the  command  of  the  African  army,  arrived  in  the  roadstead 
of  Algiers.  Marshal  Bourmont  embarked  the  same  day.  He  had 
first  the  intention  of  proceeding  to  France,  but  he  suddenly  changed 
his  mind  and  went  to  Spain.  He  claimed  a  government  ship  for 
the  passage,  but  it  was  refused.  The  IVIarshal  had  therefore  to 
negotiate  with  the  traders,  but  it  was  long  before  he  found  a  small 
Austrian  vessel,  which  received  him  on  board.  Thus  the  conqueror 
of  Algiers  left  the  scene  of  his  victory  as  an  exile.  Two  of  his 
sons  accompanied  him,  the  third  was  gone  to  France  with  the 
captured  flags,  a  fourth  had  fallen  in  the  affair  at  Sidi-Khalaf. 

Though  the  name  of  General  Clauzel  was  known  and  renowned 
under  the  Empire,  his  arrival  roused  no  enthusiasm  amongst  the 
troops,  who  knew  that  the  opposition,  which  had  come  into  power, 
and  to  which  the  General  belonged,  was  averse  to  the  expedition. 
The  first  proclamation  of  the  new  commander  announced  Louis 
Philippe's  accession  to  the  throne,  without  mentioning  by  a  single 
word,  whether  the  country  was  satisfied  with  the  army  in  Africa, 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  237 

and  whether  it  adopted  the  lionour  of  the  conquest.*  Many  of 
the  officers  and  soldiers  were  at  this  time  in  favour  of  Marshal 
Bourmont.  His  last  feat  of  arms  had  to  some  degree  wiped  out 
the  stain  which  had  sullied  his  name  since  1815,  when  he  had 
passed  over  to  the  enemy  on  the  eve  of  the  decisive  battle.  His 
misfortune  now  conciliated  many  of  his  former  opponents,  and 
their  good  wishes  accompanied  the  banished  conqueror  of  Algiers 
to  his  exile.  Clauzel  immediately  appointed  a  commission  to  en- 
quire into  the  mismanagement  with  which  the  army  of  Africa  was 
charged  in  respect  to  the  treasures  of  the  Kasbah ;  but  in  spite  of 
the  zeal  of  the  commissioners,  they  came  to  no  result ;  and  it  will 
always  remain  unknown  into  whose  pocket  the  jewels  and  money 
had  fallen  which  were  pilfered  from  the  vaults  of  the  Kasbah. 

General  Clauzel  now  set  himself  to  a  fresh  organization  of  the 
army.  A  battalion  of  natives  was  formed  under  the  name  of  Zuaves, 
mostly  of  Kabyles  from  the  Regency  of  Constantine,  who  always 
used  to  sell  their  services  to  the  Government  of  the  Barbary  States, 
as  the  Swiss  do  in  Europe.  This  excellent  corps  of  skirmishers, 
clad  in  Turkish  costume,  has  been  since  greatly  increased ;  but  it 
consists  now  mostly  of  French  volunteers,  as  the  natives  cannot 
endure  European  military  discipline.  The  most  important  act  of 
Clauzel  was  the  organization  of  the  courts  of  justice.  But  the  Moors 
were  not  favourable  to  it,  since  it  destroyed  the  supreme  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Kadi-Hanefi.  All  the  European  colonists  who  specu- 
lated on  the  future  of  the  country  were  Clauzers  partisans.  A 
society  of  settlers  was  formed  under  his  auspices,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  farm  of  Hussein- Pasha,  containing  about  a  thousand 
acres  of  land,  which  was  called  from  that  time  the  Ferine  Modele. 

After  these  administrative  measures.  General  Clauzel  turned 
his  attention  to  his  military  schemes.  Mustapha-Ben-Mesrag, 
the  Bey  of  Titteri,  had  sent  ambassadors  to  Hassan-Bey  of  Oran, 

*  It  was  perhaps  known  among  the  superior  officers  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment gave  the  English  a  positive  assurance,  when  sending  the  expedition  to  Al- 
giers, that  no  territorial  occupation  was  intended.  Charles  X.'s  Government 
was  in  this  respect  false  from  the  first,  but  in  August  it  was  not  yet  known 
whether  Louis  Phillippe  adopted  the  falsehood. 


238  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

and  to  Ahmet  Bey  of  Constantine,  claiming  that  they  should  re- 
cognize him  Dey  of  Algiers,  and  send  their  war-contingent  against 
the  French.  Hassan  was  inclined  to  accede;  but  Ahmet,  who 
himself  wished  to  become  Dey,  refused  with  the  haughty 
answer :  "  Thou  art  not  more  than  I  am."  Clauzel  left  Algiers 
on  the  17th  of  November  1830,  with  8000  men,  to  visit  Medeah, 
the  capital  of  the  warlike  Bey  of  Titteri,  who  thought  himself  in- 
vincible in  his  mountains.  On  the  progress  to  Belida,  a  band  of 
Arab  horsemen  was  seen,  who  seemed  hostile.  One  of  the 
Zuaves,  the  young  Italian  renegade,  Yussuf,  who  at  that  time 
did  not  dream  of  the  importance  which  he  was  to  acquire,  was 
sent  to  the  Arabs  by  the  French  commander  in  order  to  enter 
into  negotiations.  Yussuf  returned  with  their  chief,  a  proud 
Arab,  of  imposing  features,  who,  when  Clauzel  told  him  he  had 
the  intention  of  spending  the  night  in  Belida,  replied,  "  and 
I  have  the  intention  not  to  allow  it."  Hostilities  immediately 
began,  and  Clauzel  occupied  Belida ;  left  there  a  garrison  of  500 
men,  and  proceeded  onwards  towards  Medeah.  On  the  20th,  the 
small  army  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  The  artillery 
greeted  the  classic  Atlas  with  a  salute  of  twenty-five  cannons, 
and  a  proclamation  was  issued  in  the  Napoleonic  style.  At  the 
evening  camp-fire,  the  Paris  volunteers,  recapitulating  their 
college-remembrances,  told  their  less  instructed  comrades  that 
from  the  time  of  the  Romans — those  great  warriors  with  whom 
every  nation  feels  honoured  to  be  compared — no  European  army 
had  crossed  the  Atlas.  The  French  crossed  it  by  the  difficult 
defile  of  Teniah,  on  the  21st  of  November,  not  without  a  serious 
struggle  with  the  Turks  of  the  Bey,  and  with  the  warlike  moun- 
taineers, who  were  dislodged  from  their  positions  only  by  a  severe 
fight  of  several  hours.  The  French  lost  here  220  men;  and  Gene- 
ral Clauzel  put  forth,  from  the  heights  of  the  defile,  a  bombastic 
and  characteristically  French  proclamation,  telling  his  soldiers 
that  "  they  had  fought  like  giants."  On  the  next  day,  Medeah, 
the  capital  of  the  Beylik  of  Titteri,  was  occupied  without  resist- 
ance, and  a  new  Bey,  Ben- Omar,  was  left  here  with  a  garrison. 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  239 

But  whilst  the  General  had  been  advancing,  the  city  of  Belida  had 
become  the  scene  of  frightful  events.  Ben-Zamun  and  his  Kabyles 
had  attacked  the  small  garrison.  He  succeeded  in  entering  the 
city  by  the  half-destroyed  walls;  a  desperate  street-fight  ensued, 
and  many  children  and  women  were  murdered  by  the  French  in 
the  heat  of  the  battle,  who  thought  themselves  betrayed  by  the 
Moorish  inhabitants.  At  the  approach  of  the  army  returning 
from  Medeah,  the  Kabyles  took  to  their  heels.  Clauzel,  however, 
evacuated  Belida,  as  he  thought  it  would  be  too  dangerous  to  leave 
a  garrison  amidst  such  a  hostile  and  exasperated  population. 

The  obstinate  resistance  of  the  natives  induced  General  Clauzel 
to  devise  a  scheme  which  would  have  been  highly  advantageous 
to  the  progress  of  the  French,  without  compromising  their  honour. 
Seeing  the  difficulties  of  such  an  extended  basis  of  operations 
whilst  his  army  was  small,  he  made  a  treaty  with  Tunis,  by 
which  the  provinces  of  Constantine  and  Oran  were  ceded  to  the 
brother  of  the  Bey,  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  French.  *The  new 
Bey  bound  himself,  under  the  guarantee  of  his  brother,  to  a 
yearly  tribute  of  one  million  of  francs,  and  promised  to  favour  all 
the  commercial  settlements  of  the  French  in  the  interior,  whilst 
he  was  assured  of  the  assistance  of  the  French  army.  In  this 
way,  France  would  have  got  allies  instead  of  foes  in  the  tribes  of 
Oran  and  Constantine,  and  could  have  acted  with  concentrated 
forces  on  the  provinces  of  Algeria  and  Titteri.  This  treaty,  how- 
ever, was  not  ratified  by  the  Government;  for  the  vanity  of  the 
minister.  General  Sebastiani,  was  hurt  by  the  too  independent 
course  of  General  Clauzel,  who  therefore  was  soon  recalled  from 
Africa.  The  immigrant  colonists  and  speculators  deeply  lamented 
his  departure;  they  knew  that  he  was  favourably  disposed  to  the 
colony,  and  had  confidence  in  its  future.  The  army  lost  with  him 
an  energetic  and  enterprlzing  leader :  among  the  natives,  opinions 
were  divided.  The  Arabs  of  the  Metija  had  liked  his  decree, 
which  released  them  from  the  tribute  they  had  paid  to  the  Beys ; 
but  their  fanaticism  was  not  disarmed.  The  Moors  could  not 
forget  that  he  had  destroyed  several  mosques. 


240  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

Clauzel's  successor  was  General  Berthez^ne,  who  had  com- 
manded the  first  division  under  Marshal  Bourmont,  and  whose 
merits  were,  at  that  time,  overstated  by  the  opposition  papers,  in 
order  to  depreciate  those  of  Bourmont.  But  Berthez^ne  was  a 
very  nan-ow-minded  man,  both  as  Administrator  and  as  General. 
In  the  beginning,  he  occupied  himself  much  with  measures  of 
general  government,  but  he  did  it  without  any  system  or  consist- 
ency, and  could  not  prevent  increasing  disorder.  He  had  a 
peculiar  predilection  for  the  Moors.  Intriguers  such  as  Ahmet 
Buderbah,  and  Hamdan-Ben-Othman-Khodja,  got  considerable 
influence  under  him ;  for  the  Arabs,  he  did  not  care.  It  seemed 
as  if  he  found  it  not  worth  his  while  to  consider  their  affairs ; 
generally  he  left  it  to  the  interpreters  to  despatch  the  business  of 
the  Kaids  and  Sheikhs  who  had  come  to  Algiers.  The  Moor 
Mendiri,  who  had  been  invested  with  the  office  of  Agha  of  the 
Arabs,  did  not  dare  to  leave  the  city,  fearing  for  his  life  among 
the  Bedouins.  Mohammed-Ben-el- Amry,  the  Kaid  of  the  tribe 
Kashna,  who  had  visited  the  Agha  and  brought  him  some  pre- 
sents, was  murdered  by  his  own  tribe  on  his  return  as  a  traitor, 
and  General  Berthez^ne  did  not  punish  the  crime. 

Ben- Omar,  the  Bey  installed  in  Medeah,  was  in  the  mean- 
while in  a  dangerous  position ;  for  the  small  French  garrison 
had  retired  while  Clauzel  was  still  in  authority.  Ben-Omar  was 
a  Moor,  cunning  and  brave,  but  he  lacked  the  energy  required 
for  such  a  critical  post.  He  remained  nearly  always  in  town,  got 
no  influence  over  the  surrounding  Arab  tribes,  and  was  more  intent 
on  extorting  money  from  the  inhabitants,  than  to  extend  his  power 
and  the  suzerainty  of  France  over  the  province.  A  considerable 
portion  of  the  population  of  Medeah  entered  into  a  conspiracy 
against  Ben-Omar.  Their  head  was  Ulid-Bu-Mesrag,  the  son 
of  the  deposed  Bey,  who  had  left  the  city  and  had  joined  the  dis- 
contented Arab  tribes,  with  the  assistance  of  whom  he  blockaded 
Medeah.  Ben-Omar,  who  had  to  fear  the  outbreak  of  the  conspi- 
racy in  the  city,  and  trembled  for  his  life,  wrote  to  General 
Berthez^ne  the  most  urgent  letters,  and  asked  to  be  released  from 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  241 

his  most  painful  situation.  In  consequence,  Berthez^ne  started 
on  the  25th  of  June  1831,  with  two  brigades  from  Algiers,  passed 
the  defiles  of  Teniah  without  a  struggle,  and  entered  Medeah  on 
the  29th.  But  the  presence  of  the  French  incensed,  instead  of 
intimidating,  the  fanatical  tribes  of  the  province  of  Titteri.  The 
French  out-posts  were  continually  harassed,  and  the  fire  of  the 
hostile  skirmishers  lasted  from  morning  to  night.  On  the  1st 
of  July,  the  General  left  Medeah,  and  advanced  to  Mount  Auarah, 
where  the  hostile  tribes  had  their  trysting-place.  But  the  tribes 
did  not  wait  to  meet  the  French,  and,  true  to  their  Arab  tactics, 
withdrew  to  attack  the  enemy  on  retreat.  General  Berthezene, 
finding  no  Arabs  to  fight,  had  the  crops  destroyed  and  the  fruit- 
trees  felled.  But  as  the  French  began  to  retire,  the  enemy  ap- 
peared on  every  side,  and  skirmished  and  harassed  the  rear- 
guard up  to  the  gates  of  Medeah.  Provisions  were  here  scarce,  as 
the  surrounding  country  was  held  by  the  tribes ;  the  General  had 
therefore  to  retreat  to  Algiers.  Ben-Omar  was  not  willing  to 
remain  in  Medeah :  he  went  with  the  army.  It  was  on  the  evening 
of  the  2d  of  July  that  the  disastrous  retreat  of  Medeah  began, 
the  moral  results  of  which,  and  of  their  barbarous  ravages,  were 
long  fatal  to  the  cause  of  the  French.  The  tribes  followed  the 
rear-guard  of  the  column,  who  trusted  to  pass  the  defile  of  Teniah 
without  loss,  in  the  dead  of  night.  But  soon  an  inexplicable 
confusion  arose  in  the  march  of  the  battalions ;  they  were  seized 
with  a  panic,  and  hastened  down  the  northern  slope  of  the  Atlas 
with  a  speed  resembling  a  flight.  General  Berthezene  committed 
the  gravest  errors  :  he  did  not  even  send  a  few  companies  on  the 
heights  west  of  the  defile,  in  order  to  cover  the  retreat.  The 
Kabyles  therefore  took  up  a  position  on  those  heights,  and  opened  a 
murderous  fire  on  the  descending  French  column.  Many  soldiers 
were  disabled,  and  the  difficulties  of  transporting  the  wounded 
men  heightened  the  confusion  dreadfully.  A  battalion  of  the 
20th  regiment  of  the  line  lost  its  commander ;  he  was  not  replaced 
by  any  one :  all  order  was  forgotten,  and  each  man  cared  only  for 
his  own  safety,  and  fled  to  get  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Kabyle 


242  ADMINISTKATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

bullets  fis  soon  as  possible.  The  army  would  have  been  lost  in 
that  critical  moment  but  for  the  courage  and  presence  of  mind  of 
Duvivier,  afterwards  so  celebrated.  Though  not  ordered  to  form 
the  rear-guard,  he  threw  himself  with  his  battalion  on  the 
Kabyles  on  his  own  responsibility.  The  mountaineers  fought 
with  a  gallantry,  such  as  the  French  had  not  experienced  from 
the  Arabs.  Many  of  them  came  down  into  the  pass  to  fight  the 
French,  man  to  man.  Several  of  the  Paris  volunteers  who  had 
taken  militar}^  service  shortly  after  the  Revolution  of  July,  and 
who  formed  at  a  later  time  the  67th  regiment  of  the  line,  were 
not  yet  broken  to  the  fatigues  of  a  campaign ;  and,  in  extreme 
weariness,  straggled  behind  the  army.  The  Kabyles  threw  them- 
selves principally  upon  those  ill-fated  men,  who  could  scarcely 
offer  any  resistance,  and  flung  several  of  them  down  into  the  steep 
abysses  on  the  left  of  the  rocky  path.  Duvivier  fronted  the 
enem}'-  till  all  the  stragglers  had  gathered  round  him ;  then  he 
retired  slowly,  always  fighting ;  again  halting  to  repel  the  enemy, 
when  the  attack  became  too  fierce.  Whilst  this  brave  officer 
and  his  soldiers  risked  their  lives  for  the  defence  of  the  other 
battalions,  these  fled  panic-stricken,  and  halted  only  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain,  where  they  formed  silently  into  columns,  ashamed 
of  the  weakness  they  had  displayed,  which  had  not  been  the 
result  of  cowardice,  but  solely  of  want  of  prudence  and  skill  in 
their  General.  They  were  pursued  as  far  as  to  the  Chiffa,  which 
they  crossed  by  night.  Their  loss  in  this  ill-fated  retreat 
amounted  to  three  hundred  men  in  dead  and  wounded.  But  the 
impression  made  on  the  Arabs  by  the  tidings  of  this  first  rout  of 
the  army,  which  until  now  had  always  been  victorious,  was  far 
more  serious  than  the  material  loss.  Fanaticism  broke  out  in  a 
blaze.  The  most  celebrated  Marabuts,  and  amongst  them  Sidi- 
Saadi,  who  had  just  returned  from  Mecca,  perambulated  the  tribes 
and  preached  the  lad  (the  holy  war).  Ben  Zamun,  the  Flissa 
chief,  came  with  an  army  of  Arabs  and  Kabyles  up  to  the  Ferme 
3Iodele,  tenanted  by  the  first  European  colonists,  whilst  Ulid- 
Bii-Mesrag   advanced   with   his   hordes  to   the   block-house   on 


AND  OF  GENERAL  EERTHEZENE.  243 

Uad-el-Kerma.  The  model  farm  was  attacked  by  Ben  Zamun, 
and  the  first  crops  sown  by  European  hands  were  destroyed. 
General  Berthezene  made  now  a  sally  with  all  his  cavalry  and 
six  battalions,  and  drove  the  enemy  over  the  Araj.  The  attack 
of  Ulid-Bu-Mesrag  on  the  block-house  on  the  River  Uad-el- 
Kerma,  was  likewise  repulsed ;  the  undisciplined  hordes  of  the 
Africans  could  not  keep  the  field  against  the  French.  But  seeing 
that  they  did  not  succeed  in  regular  war,  they  continued  their 
harassing  skirmishes,  in  which  the  natives  are  always  superior 
to  any  intruder. 

Whilst  this  warfare  was  carried  on  in  the  province  of  Algiers, 
other  events  happened  in  the  more  remote  provinces  of  Constan- 
tine  and  Oran,  not  less  disastrous  to  the  extension  of  French 
dominion.  Ahmet,  the  Bey  of  Constantine,  had  on  his  return 
from  Algiers  found  the  gates  of  his  capital  closed  against  him. 
A  sedition  had  broken  out  amongst  the  Turks  left  in  Constantine, 
headed  by  Hamud-Ben-Shakar,  the  Vicegerent  of  Ahmet.  The 
Bey,  seeing  that  he  could  not  achieve  anything  against  the  city 
with  his  scanty  troops,  was  just  about  to  retire  to  his  kinsmen  in 
the  Sahara — the  mighty  Beni-Gana,  the  chief  of  whom,  Bu-Asis- 
Ben-Gana,  was  his  maternal  uncle — when  suddenly  a  counter- 
revolution broke  out  in  Constantine  in  favour  of  Ahmet.  Hamud- 
Ben-Shakar  was  first  expelled  with  his  Turks,  and  soon  after  mur- 
dered by  his  own  followers,  who  thought  in  this  way  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  the  Bey,  to  whom  they  again  returned.  Ahmet 
received  them  very  kindly,  but  afterwards  had  them  nearly  all 
beheaded,  one  after  the  other,  under  various  pretexts.  He  was  a 
Kurugli,  jealous  of  the  thorough-bred  Turks,  and  favouring  the  half- 
breed  Kuruglis ;  all  his  officers  belonged  to  that  denomination.  He 
now  increased  his  regular  force,  principally  by  Kabyles,  of  whom 
he  was  peculiarly  fond.  They  did  not  pay  more  than  a  nominal 
tribute,  and  their  Marabuts  received  even  presents  from  him,  w  hile 
he  held  the  Arabs  of  his  province  in  a  state  of  complete  oppression. 
Ben-Aissa,  the  vicegerent  and  favourite  of  Ahmet,  was  a  Kabyle. 
The  city  of  Bona,  which  belongs  to  the  province  of  CoiLstantlne, 


244  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

had  heen  besieged  by  the  surrounding  Arab  tribes,  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  brigade  Damremont,  recalled  by  Bourmont.  The 
fanatical  tribes  were  desirous  of  chastising  the  Moorish  inhabitants 
for  having  received  the  infidels  without  resistance.  The  Com- 
mander of  Bona  was  Sidi- Ahmet,  a  Turk,  who  had  occupied  the 
Kasbah,  or  citadel,  with  a  few  hundreds  of  his  nation,  and  defended 
the  city.  This  chief  wrote  to  General  Berthezene,  and  requested 
of  him  assistance  in  auxiliaries  and  ammunition,  expressly  stating 
that  the  auxiliaries  were  to  be  exclusivel}''  natives.  The  General 
sent  him  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  Zuaves,  all  Mohammedans, 
but  under  the  command  of  two  French  officers,  the  commander, 
Houder,  and  Captain  Bigot.  The  presence  of  French  officers, 
which  he  had  deprecated,  made  Sidi- Ahmet  suspicious.  Quarrels 
soon  arose  between  him  and  Houder,  and  at  last  it  came  to  an 
open  rupture.  Houder  took  possession  of  the  Kasbah,  and,  with 
it,  of  the  city.  But  the  janissaries,  accustomed  to  riots,  soon 
became  mutinous  against  the  French  commander,  and  took 
Ibrahim,  a  deposed  Bey  of  Constantine,  for  their  leader.  This 
cunning  and  faithless  man  had  previously  obtained  the  con- 
fidence of  Houder,  and  had  received  money  from  him,  which 
he  employed  for  bribing  the  Turks.  Whilst  the  commander 
was  in  town,  Ibrahim  closed  the  gates  of  the  Kasbah  against 
him,  and  when  he  returned  with  a  few  faithful  Zuaves,  they  were 
received  by  bullets.  Upon  this,  the  inhabitants  notified  to 
Houder,  that  they  could  not  be  responsible  for  his  safety,  as  the 
Arabs  were  about  to  attack  the  city,  and  could  calculate  upon 
many  fanatics  in  town  for  their  support.  The  French  officers 
hastened  now  to  the  harbour  to  embark  in  the  corvette  Creole, 
which  was  at  anchor  in  the  roads,  but  at  the  same  moment  the 
gates  were  forced  by  the  Arabs.  With  fearful  yells  they  rushed 
into  the  town;  some  Moorish  wretches  joined  them;  a  street  fight 
ensued,  in  which  Captain  Bigot  was  slain;  the  French  of  the 
corvette,  and  the  Zuaves,  threw  themselves  into  the  boats;  the 
Arabs  fired  upon  them ;  the  ill-fated  Commander  Houder  received 
a  bullet  through  his  head,  and  several  French  marine-soldiers 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BERTHEZENE.  24^ 

were  taken  prisoners.  Upon  receiving  these  bloody  tidings, 
General  Berthezene  sent  Commander  Duvivier,  with  two  hundred 
and  fifty  Zuaves,  in  two  brigs  to  Bona.  The  prisoners  were 
delivered  up  to  him;  but  even  that  enterprising  officer  did  not 
dare  to  attack  the  well-fortified  Kasbah,  as  his  troops  were  not 
numerous  enough.  He  had  to  return  to  Algiers  without  having 
taken  revenge  for  the  death  of  the  French  officers. 

The  city  of  Oran  had  been  delivered  up  to  the  French  without 
resistance  by  Hassan- Bey,  an  old  man,  who  wished  for  peace  and 
rest.  This  happened  under  Clauzel,  who  gave  the  command  of 
the  city  to  the  Khalifa  of  the  Prince  of  Tunis.  But  as  the 
French  Government  did  not  ratify  the  treaty  between  the  General 
and  the  Prince  of  Tunis,  the  Vicegerent  left  the  city,  and  General 
Boyer  became  its  commander.  Boyer  had  been  notorious  in  the 
Spanish  war  for  his  iron  severity.  He  thought  he  had  to  apply  in. 
Africa  the  same  rule  of  terror  which  had  produced  such  bad  effects 
in  Spain.  Without  previous  trial,  he  had  several  citizens,  who 
had  been  charged  with  a  secret  understanding  with  the  Sultan 
of  Morocco,  beheaded,  and  their  property  confiscated.  But  his 
authority  did  not  extend  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city.  The  Arabs 
used  to  come  to  market  with  their  products,  and  when  they  left 
the  gates  of  the  town,  often  amused  themselves  by  turning  round 
and  firing  upon  the  French  sentinels  whilst  they  galloped  off. 
None  of  the  towns  except  Arzew,  which  was  inhabited  by  a 
Kabyle  tribe  from  Morocco,  remained  in  friendly  intercourse  with' 
Oran;  this  was  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Kadi  of  Arzew, 
who  exercised  supreme  power  there.  All  the  rest  of  the  extensive 
province  was  in  a  state  of  dreadful  anarchy.  The  Arab  tribes  of 
that  region  are  more  warlike  and  fanatical  than  anywhere  else. 
Though  treated  with  forbearance  by  the  Turks,  they  unwillingly 
bore  the  supremacy  of  the  Dey,  and  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity 
of  throwing  off  the  yoke.  Soon  after  the  downfal  of  Hussein- 
Dey,  the  mightiest  tribes  took  up  arms.  Sidi-Mahiddin,  an  old  and 
highly-revered  Marabut,  the  father  of  the  afterwards  so  celebrated 
Abd-el-Kader,  exercised  unlimited   influence  on  the  numerous 


246  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL 

tribe  of  the  Hashems.  He  appeared  with  a  great  retinue  before 
the  city  of  Mascara,  overpowered  the  Turkish  garrison,  and  de- 
stroyed the  summer-palace  where  the  Beys  had  formerly  occa- 
sionally resided.  The  inhabitants  of  Mascara  hereupon  elected 
Sidi-Mahiddin  to  be  their  chief,  but  the  Marabut  declined  the 
dignity  in  favour  of  his  youngest  son,  Abd-el-Kader,  who  had 
accompanied  him  on  his  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  who  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  his  tribe  by  his  melancholy,  his  conti- 
nency,  and  the  high  gifts  of  his  spirit.  To  influence  the  people 
in  behalf  of  his  favourite  son,  Sidi-Mahiddin  related  to  them  the 
prophecy  of  a  dervish  in  Mecca,  who  had  predicted  the  dignity 
of  Sultan  to  young  Abd-el-Kader,  during  their  stay  in  the  holy 
city.  The  fanatical  people  believed  it,  and  elected  Abd-el-Kader 
their  Emir.  The  young  son  of  the  Marabut  entered  Mascara  in 
triumph,  accompanied  by  the  horsemen  of  his  tribe,  and  was 
hailed  by  the  cheers  of  the  citizens,  who  liked  the  thoughtful,  pious 
expression  of  his  pale  countenance.  Abd-el-Kader  was  at  that 
time  very  poor :  he  wore  a  ragged  burnus,  and  had  only  half  a 
boojoo  (golden  coin)  in  his  cowl  when  he  took  possession  of  the  old 
palace  of  the  Beys  at  Mascara,  and  received  there  the  allegiance 
of  the  people,  and  among  them  even  that  of  his  lather.  Sidi- 
Mahiddin  did  not  remain  in  town  ;  he  returned  to  his  Ghetna,  or 
liermitage,  and  was  occupied  in  his  last  days  in  strengthening  the 
power  of  his  son  by  his  own  influence  on  the  Arabs,  and  in  preach- 
ing the  holy  war  against  the  French. 

The  rest  of  the  province  of  Oran  was  subdued  by  other  Arab 
^chiefs.  Sheikh  Sidi-el-Gomary  held  sway  over  the  large  steppes 
of  the  Angad;  the  warlike  robber- tribes  of  that  country  obeyed 
his  commands.  Sidi-Buhamedi  exercised  a  limited  authority  over 
the  Kabyle  tribes  on  the  Tafna,  and  Milud-Ben-Arash  was  the 
most  influential  Sheikh  amongst  the  Garrabas.  But  the  most 
important  chief  next  to  Abd-el-Kader  was  Mustapha-Ben-Ismael, 
the  former  Agha  of  the  Bey  of  Oran,  a  powerful,  energetic  old 
man,  highly  respected  among  all  the  tribes,  and  of  peculiar  influ- 
ence among  the  Duairs  and  Zraelas,  whose  horsemen  had  been 


AND  OF  GENERAL  BEllTHEZENE.  247 

the  nucleus  of  the  auxiliaries  of  Hassan- Bey.  Each  of  these 
chiefs  tried  to  extend  his  authority  as  far  as  possible.  Thus  the 
claims  of  these  ambitious  men  gradually  began  to  clash  with  one 
another,  until  the  sway  of  the  one  had  to  yield  to  the  other,  either 
voluntarily,  or  under  constraint  of  arms.  Abd-el-Kader  had  the 
great  advantage  over  his  rivals,  that  the  seat  of  his  power  lay  in 
the  centre  of  the  province;  the  tribe  who  supported  him,  though 
less  numerous  than  the  Angads  or  Beni-Ammers,  was  very  coin- 
pact,  enterprizing,  and  fanatically  addicted  to  Sidi-Mahiddin. 
Besides  those  native  chiefs,  there  was  likewise  a  foreign  monarch 
who  tried  to  turn  the  downfal  of  the  Dey  and  the  anarchy  of  the 
province  to  his  own  account,  in  order  to  extend  his  dominions.  It 
was  Muley-Abder-Rahman,  the  Sultan  of  Morocco,  who,  as  a 
prince  of  Arab  extraction,  is  in  high  esteem  among  all  the 
Bedouins  of  Barbary.  Accordingly,  a  Vicegerent  of  the  Emperor 
of  Morocco  occupied  the  city  of  Tlemsan,  and  appeared  with  a  few 
hundred  horsemen  even  under  the  walls  of  Oran,  deriding  the 
weak  French  garrison,  who  did  not  dare  to  make  a  sally. 

Yet  peace  reigned  in  the  province  of  Algiers  towards  the  end 
of  General  Benthez^ne's  administration,  who  had  concluded  a 
convention  with  the  Arabs,  according  to  which  they  might  remain 
undisturbed  and  independent  in  their  own  territories,  but,  when 
armed,  were  excluded  from  the  French  lines.  He  had  appointed 
their  Agha,  the  most  influential  man  of  the  Metija,  the  Marabut 
El-Haji-Mahiddin-el-Sghir-ben-Mubark,  chief  of  the  Marabut 
family  of  the  Mubarek  of  Coleah,  who  for  many  generations  had 
been  in  odour  of  sanctity.  This  Marabut  bound  himself  to  enforce 
the  punctual  fulfilment  of  the  convention  with  the  tribes,  for  a 
yearly  allowance  of  70,000  francs.  The  French  thus  paid  a  kind 
of  tribute  to  the  Arabs ;  and  Berthezene  did  not  interfere  in  any 
way  in  their  affairs,  though  the  quarreling  parties  often  appealed 
to  his  decision.  He  let  a  precious  opportunity  escape  to  gain 
for  France  these  Arabs,  who,  tired  of  anarchy,  wished  for  an 
energetic  rule.  One  of  the  most  etFicient  expedients  of  Deyish 
policy  had  been  to   attach  the  Sheikhs  and  Marabuts  to   the 


248  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

Central  Government  by  personal  interests,  and  to  make  use  of  one 
tribe  in  subjecting  the  other.  The  indolence  of  the  General,  or 
his  deficiency  in  clear  notions  about  the  relations  of  the  interior, 
prevented  him  from  applying  such  means  for  the  interest  of  France. 
He  allowed  time  to  the  mightier  chiefs  for  extending  and  strength- 
ening their  sway,  and  for  establishing  at  last  that  Arab  empire, 
which  for  a  long  period  was  able  to  resist  all  the  French  armies; 
whilst  an  energetic,  decided,  and  timely  interference,  would  have 
crushed  it  in  its  beginning.  It  was  a  misfortune  for  Algiers  that 
the  Government  of  Louis  Philippe  neglected  the  African  affairs 
altogether.  Yet  these  great  mistakes  of  Count  Berthez^ne, 
equally  incapable  as  General  and  as  Administrator,  at  last  caused 
his  recall.  He  left  Algiers  regretted  by  no  one,  except  probably 
by  some  Moorish  intriguers,  who  had  made  very  lucrative  jobs 
under  his  administration. 


CHAPTER  ly. 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO  AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL, 

Lieutenant- General  S  a  vary,  Duke  of  Rovigo,  was  appointed 
successor  to  General  Berthez^ne,  and  landed  at  Algiers  on  the 
25th  December  1831.  The  part  he  played  under  Napoleon, 
both  as  General  and  as  Police  Minister,  is  sufficiently  known. 
After  the  July  Revolution,  he  had,  together  with  all  the  more 
pliable  Napoleonists,  attached  himself  to  the  new  dynasty,  and 
was  offered  the  command  of  Algiers,  there  being  no  diplomatic 
post  vacant,  such  as  was  suited  to  a  Napoleonist  notability.  The 
Duke  felt  satisfied  with  the  appointment :  high  rank  and  riches 
alone  never  could  have  contented  an  active  ambitious  man  of  bis 
stamp ;  he  wished  for  power.  Though  old,  and  weaned  from 
business  by  an  interval  of  fifteen  years,  the  Duke  could  never 
forget  that  he  had  had  once  considerable  share  in  the  government 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  249 

of  his  country,  and  had  then  found  passive  obedience  among  an 
extended  circle  of  officials.  Savary  saw  that  the  commandership 
of  Algiers  was  now  the  only  post  fit  for  him.  He  went  thither 
with  the  intention  of  devoting  himself  entirely  to  that  country 
and  its  new  organization.  He  looked  upon  his  post  neither  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  higher  offices,  nor  as  a  source  of  riches — ^motives 
which  have  been  imputed,  not  without  cause,  to  several  of  his 
successors.  He  was  never  suspected  of  such  motives,  though 
there  are  plenty  of  people  at  Algiers  always  ready  to  bring 
forward  charges,  even  when  utterly  unable  to  prove  them. 
When  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  left  the  province,  he  was  perhaps  less 
wealthy  than  at  the  time  he  assumed  the  command,  and  he  had 
made  many  a  personal  sacrifice  for  the  welfare  of  the  African 
colony.  Thus,  for  instance,  he  turned  the  garden-palace,  late 
the  property  of  Agha  Ibrahim,  son-in-law  of  Hussein-Dey,  and 
the  summer- residence  of  the  governors,  into  a  magnificent  mili- 
tary hospital,  on  account  of  its  healthy  situation,  and  chose  to 
remain  himself  all  the  year  in  the  city.  How  was  it  then,  that 
with  so  much  good-will,  with  so  praiseworthy  a  zeal,  and  such 
decided  talent,  the  administration  of  the  Duke  was  not  only 
unlucky,  but  even  compliQated  difficulties  in  the  subjection  of 
the  country?  Pellissier  gives  us,  in  his  Annales  Algerimnes,  a 
sufficient  explanation.  The  Duke  lacked  the  organizing  power 
which  cannot  be  acquired  by  experience,  and  he  had  contracted 
habits  which  cannot  be  abandoned  at  an  advanced  age.  Had  it 
been  his  task  to  continue  the  French  dominion  on  the  system  of 
the  Deys,  Savary  would  have  been  the  right  man  :  he  understood 
the  maintenance  of  a  tyrannical  policy  in  a  masterly  way.  But 
the  old  system  did  not  do  for  the  new  conquerors.  Formerly,  it 
was  the  whole  tribe  which  had  to  rue  when  a  crime  was  com- 
mitted on  its  territory  ;  or  if  an  Arab  had  resisted  the  soldiers  of 
the  Dey,  a  few  heads  fell,  and  amongst  them  several  innocent 
ones.  Such  summary  despotical  justice  spread  terror  among  the 
tribes  :  no  chief  dared  to  stir,  or  he  had  to  retire  with  his  tribe  to 
the  Desert,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  janissaries.     However,  such  a 


250  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

despotism  could  only  be  practised  by  a  ruler  who  was  connected 
with  the  Arabs  by  the  tie  of  the  same  religious  faith.  The 
continuation  of  such  a  system  by  the  French  could  not  but  have 
quite  different  consequences,  because  fanaticism  would  have  soon 
superseded  terror.  Death  by  the  yatagan  of  a  Mohammedan 
executioner  was  far  more  fearful  to  the  Arab  than  death  in  the 
battle  against  the  Rummis,  when  bis  blood  was  boiling  with 
hatred  and  enthusiasm,  and  when  the  hostile  bullet  sent  him 
straight  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  highest  bliss  of  Paradise  pro- 
mised by  the  Prophet  to  the  martyr  of  the  faith.  The  principle 
of  the  Dey  to  hold  innocent  men  responsible,  and  to  punish  them 
for  the  riots  or  robberies  of  their  kinsmen  when  these  escaped, 
would,  if  imitated  by  the  French,  have  occasioned  and  justified 
dreadful  reprisals.  Such  a  theme  for  an  appeal  to  the  holy  war 
would  have  been  welcome  to  every  Marabut.  But  even  if  it 
might  have  been  possible  to  continue  the  reign  of  terror  from  the 
Deys,  it  would  have  destroyed  the  moral  aim  of  a  European 
settlement  in  Africa.  The  old  system  of  the  janissaries  was 
excellent  for  maintaining  their  tyrannical  oppression ;  but  it  de- 
stroyed the  resources  of  the  country,  and  prevented  all  progress. 
The  Arab  did  not  care  to  increase  the  produce  of  his  fields,  or 
to  improve  his  cattle;  for,  as  he  grew  wealthier,  he  was  more 
liable  to  extortion.  With  such  a  system,  the  natives  would  have 
changed  masters  without  getting  rid  of  oppression  ;  the  country 
would  have  remained  uncultivated,  and  the  people  savage  and 
ignorant.  But  had  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  united  conscientious 
justice  to  the  severity  and  energy  of  his  character, — had  he  dealt 
forbearingly  with  the  religious  prejudices  and  habits  of  the  natives, 
but  punished  crimes  strictly,  and  without  delay,  though  never  on 
innocent  men,  he  might  have  achieved  great  results.  There  is 
nothing  so  well  adapted  to  win  the  respect  and  affection  of  a  half- 
savage  people  than  even-handed  justice.  But  the  Duke  was 
accustomed,  as  a  police-minister,  never  to  be  restrained  from 
harsh  and  arbitrary  measures  by  regard  to  justice  and  equity. 
Every  means,  even  the  most  cruel,  was  welcome  to  him,  if  it 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIJIOL.  251 

answered  the  purpose  he  had  to  carry,  namely,  to  extend  the  sway 
of  France  all  OA^er  the  old  dominion  of  the  Dey,  and  to  subdue 
the  tribes  unconditionally.  But  that  system  failed  altogether ; 
hearts  were  hardened  by  mutual  misdeeds ;  every  drop  of  blood 
spilt  cried  for  revenge  ;  and  any  sincere  accord  between  the  con- 
querors and  the  natives  became  impossible  when  the  passions  of 
national  and  religious  hatred  were  let  loose.  It  was,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  influence  of  the  Duke  which  gave  to  the  war  between 
the  Arabs  and  French  that  savage  and  terrible  character  which 
it  maintained  as  long  as  it  lasted. 

Casimir  Perrier  was  premier  in  France  when  the  Duke  entered 
upon  his  administration  ;  but  this  talented  statesman  had  little 
time  to  look  into  Algerine  affairs  :  he  left  them  entirely  to  the 
commander.  Yet  he  enforced  one  important  measure,  which 
might  have  advanced  the  colonization  of  the  coast  under  favour- 
able circumstances, — he  separated  the  civil  and  military  adminis- 
tration, and  appointed  Mr.  Pichon  Civil-Intendant,  who,  though 
subordinate  to  the  commander-in-chief,  was  to  be  in  immediate 
correspondence  with  the  premier.  In  this  way  he  could  some- 
times thwart  the  oppressive  measures  of  the  General,  and  the 
colonists  had  some  one  to  appeal  to  if  military  despotism  became 
too  oppressive.  But  the  civil-intendant  was  just  as  ambitious  and 
unyielding  a  man  as  the  commander- general ;  collisions  ensued  ; 
Mr.  Pichon  had  to  withdraw;  but  his  successors,  Genty  de  Bussy 
and  Bresson,  were  likewise  energetic  and  active  men,  with  the 
will  to  do  their  best  for  the  settlement  as  far  as  their  restricted 
power  allowed  it. 

The  Moorish  population  of  Algiers  grew  embittered  against  the 
Duke,  principally  on  account  of  two  measures.  As  the  army  was 
in  the  greatest  need,  and  had  no  other  shelter  than  their  light 
tents,  where  they  slept  on  the  bare  ground,  the  Duke  imposed  a 
contribution  of  5400  cwt.  of  wool  on  the  Moors,  and  had  it  levied 
by  force.  The  other  measure  which  had  justly  roused  the  indig- 
nation of  likewise  many  a  European,  was  the  destruction  of  great 
numbers  of  Moorish  tombs  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  hand- 


252  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

some  high-road  constructed  by  the  Duke  to  the  Sahel.  More- 
over, the  Moors,  who  had  sent  their  complaints  to  Paris,  were 
banished  from  Algiers  by  the  Duke. 

We  must  acknowledge  that  the  system  of  General  Savary  for 
the  occupation  of  the  country  was  suitable  to  the  then-existing 
circumstances.  He  had  camps  and  block-houses  raised  for  the 
protection  of  the  colony,  and  secured  in  that  way  an  extent  of 
forty  square  miles  round  the  city  against  every  attack  of  the 
Arabs.  He  saw  that  it  was  neither  necessary  nor  advisable  for 
the  small  number  of  European  settlers  to  spread  farther,  as  his 
array  was  not  numerous. 

In  April  1832,  an  embassy  arrived  at  Algiers  from  Farhat- 
ben-Said,  a  powerful  chief,  who  dwelt  in  the  south  of  the  province 
of  Constantine,  in  the  steppes  of  the  Belad-el- Jerid,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Sahara.     All  the  numerous  nomade  Arab  tribes  of  the 
Jerid  and  the  steppes  in  the  Sahara  always  acknowledged  the  au- 
thority of  a  chief  who  was  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Bey  of  Con- 
stantine, and  had  the  title  of  Sheikh-el- Arab.     This  dignity  had 
for  centuries  alternated  in  the  two  most  important  families  of 
the  south,  the  Ben- Said  and  Ben-Gana.      At  the  time  of  the 
French  expedition  to  Algiers,  Farhat,  the  chief  of  the  Ben-Saids, 
was  Sheikh- el- Arab.     But  Ahmet-Bey  of  Constantine  distrusted 
this  ambitious  man,  deposed  him,  and  appointed  in  his  stead  Bu- 
Asis,  the  chief  of  the  Ben-Ganas,  his  maternal  uncle.     The  de- 
posed Sheikh  did  not  yield  immediately.     He  had  great  influence 
in  the  Sahara,  gathered  an  army  of  cavalry  around  him,  and  ad- 
vanced towards  Constantine;  but  was  defeated  by  Ahmet,  who  led 
his  array  against  the  chief  of  the  south.     The  horsemen  of  the 
Desert  were  dispersed,  and  the  authority  of  the  new  Sheikh-el- 
Arab  acknowledged  by  the  great  majority  of  the  tribes.     When 
Farhat  saw  that  he  could  not  succeed  against  the  Bey  with  his  own 
forces,  he  turned  to  the  French,  and  encouraged  the  Duke  of  Rovigo 
to  an  expedition  against  Constantine  by  the  promise  of  an  assistance 
of  10,000  raen.    The  Duke,  who  did  not  know  yet  how  swaggering 
and  unreliable  the  Arab  chiefs  are,  received  the  arabassadors  of 


AND  OP  GENERAL  VOIROL.  253 

Farhat  with  great  splendour  and  ceremony  ;  he  gave  an  evasive 
answer  to  the  proposal,  but  expressed  it  in  most  flattering  terras. 
It  was  agreeable  to  the  Duke  to  know  that  there  was  in  those  re- 
gions a  mighty  partisan  of  the  French,  whose  assistance,  though 
for  the  moment  not  wanted,  might  hereafter  advance  the  extension 
of  the  dominion  of  France,  and  a  future  expedition  against  Con- 
stantine.  Thus  thought  not  only  Savary,  but  likewise  his  suc- 
cessors, who  entertained  too  great  an  opinion  of  Farhat's  re- 
sources, and  relied  too  much  on  the  word  of  the  Arab.  When 
the  expedition  was  really  undertaken,  it  became  clear  that  the 
commanders  had  all  been  deluded  by  the  boasting  and  the  pro- 
mises of  that  chief. 

Farhat's  ambassadors  left  Algiers  laden  with  rich  presents. 
They  had,  among  other  gifts,  received  red  burnuses  of  honour,  em- 
broidered with  gold,  such  as  the  Deys  were  wont  to  bestow  upon 
mighty  chiefs.  A  few  hours  from  town  they  were  plundered  by 
Arabs  of  the  tribe  El-Ufifia,  and  robbed  of  their  red  burnuses. 
They  returned  to  Algiers,  complaining  to  the  Duke,  who  just 
chanced  to  have  an  evening-party,  and  had  gambled  and  taken 
wine.  He  rashly  gave  the  order  to  one  of  the  generals,  a  guest 
at  the  party,  immediately  to  start  with  some  troops,  and  to  de- 
stroy the  tribe.  The  general  took  this  order  literally.  For  this 
sudden  attack  he  chose  two  corps  of  the  army  most  notorious  for 
their  cruelty,  the  Foreign  Legion  and  the  Chasseurs  d'Afrique ;  in 
the  dead  of  night  he  surrounded  the  encampments  of  the  El-Uffia, 
which  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  fortified  ^^  Mais  on  carree,'' 
and  slaughtered  the  whole  population; — old  men  silently  awaiting 
the  death-blow,  women  crying  for  mercy,  and  children,  who  did 
pot  know  what  was  to  befall  them,  were  unmercifully  slain  by  the 
sabre  and  the  bayonet.  The  soldiers  returned  with  rich  booty, 
carrying  in  triumph  gory  heads  on  the  tops  of  their  lances  and 
bayonets  to  the  camp.  There  they  feasted  and  revelled  till  the 
next  night,  in  an  inhuman  way :  not  one  of  them  seemed  to  re- 
pent their  horrid  deed. 

Manyinjudicious  Europeans  in  Algiers  approved  of  the  barbarous 


254  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

slaughter  as  an  act  of  energetic  policy.  "  Just  so,"  said  they, 
"had  the  Deys  established  their  sway."  But  they  had  forgotten 
the  difference  of  condition  between  the  old  rulers  and  the  new 
conquerors.  Instead  of  spreading  terror,  the  execution  kindled 
the  fire  of  vengeance  all  over  the  country.  Three  weeks  after  the 
wanton  murder  of  the  tribe  El-Uffia,  a  detachment  of  the  Foreign 
Legion,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Cham,  a  Swiss,  was  surprised 
and  cut  down  by  the  Arabs  near  the  "  liaison  carree."  Only 
one  soldier,  a  German,  was  spared,  because  he  uttered  the  name 
Mohammed  at  the  moment  when  the  yatagan  was  raised  against 
him.  The  Arabs  carried  him  away  as  prisoner,  but  he  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping,  and  returned  to  the  army.  It  so  happened 
that  nearly  all  the  soldiers  slain  belonged  to  the  companies  which 
had  been  active  at  the  slaughter  of  the  El-Uffias,  and  that  their 
heads  fell  close  to  the  spot  where,  three  weeks  before,  they  had 
spilt  the  blood  of  babes  and  females.  The  Arabs,  who  destroyed 
this  detachment,  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  Issers,  who  dwelt 
east  of  Cape  Matifu.  The  Duke  of  Rovigo  sent  a  great  expedi- 
tion against  them  by  sea.  But  the  Issers  were  on  their  guard, 
and  General  Buchet,  who  had  the  command  of  the  expedition,  did 
not  dare  to  land.  In  consequence  of  the  slaughter  of  the  El- 
Uffias,  the  holy  war  was  preached  all  over  the  country.  The 
most  celebrated  Marabuts,  especially  the  restless  Sidi-Saadi, 
hastened  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  excited  all  good  Moslems  against 
the  French.  Even  Sidi-Mubarek,  the  Agha  appointed  by  General 
Berthezene,  and  paid  by  the  French,  joined  the  insurrection.  A 
great  meeting  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  province  of  Algeria 
took  place  at  Suk-Ali,  a  farm  in  the  Metija.  Above  a  hundred 
Kaids,  Sheikhs,  and  Marabuts,  were  present,  and  Ben-Zamun, 
the  Kabyle  Flissa  chief,  was  their  chairman.  After  many  speeches 
and  harangues  full  of  fanatical  passion,  the  military  and  religious 
chiefs  unanimously  resolved  to  carry  on  a  war  of  extermination 
against  the  intruding  Rummis,  and  every  tribe  promised  to  send 
its  contingent.  Even  the  cities  Belida  and  Coleah  entered  the 
league.     The  Duke  of  Rovigo  was  pretty  well  informed  of  every- 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  255 

thing  that  happened;  but 'he  feigned  not  to  care  for  it,  whilst  in 
secret  he  fitted  out  a  party  for  sudden  action.  He  waited  only 
until  the  enemy  had  united  his  forces,  in  order  to  make  the  blow 
more  decisive.  On  the  2d  October,  two  French  columns  started 
at  night  from  Algiers,  one  in  the  direction  of  the  farm  Suk-Ali, 
the  other  towards  the  city  of  Coleah.  The  first  column  mot  the 
enemy  at  the  wood  Sidi-Kai'd.  It  was  received  by  the  musket- 
fire  of  the  Kabyles,  lying  in  ambuscade,  which  threw  the  vanguard 
into  confusion.  Yet  the  Chasseurs  attacked  the  enemy  bravely, 
and  were  followed  by  the  Zuaves  of  Commander  Duvivier.  The 
Arab  cavalry,  though  in  number  six  times  superior  to  the  French, 
were  put  to  flight,  and  left  the  Kabyle  infantry  in  the  lurch. 
Several  hundreds  of  the  mountaineers  were  slain  after  desperate 
resistance.  Their  chief,  Ben-Zamun,  indignant  at  the  cowardice 
of  the  Arabs,  retired  into  the  mountains,  and  swore  that  he  never 
would  interfere  in  their  affairs,  and  remained  for  several  years 
quietly  on  his  farm  amongst  his  tribe — the  Flissas.  The  other 
column,  under  the  command  of  General  Brossard,  met  no  resist- 
ance at  Coleah;  the  treacherous  Agha  Mubarek  had  fled.  The 
French  general  took  his  relatives  Sidi- Allah  and  Sidi-Moham- 
ined-ben-Mubarek  prisoners  in  his  stead,  though  there  was  no 
evidence  of  guilt  against  them,  and  though  their  participation  in 
the  insurrection  could  not  have  been  direct.  The  Duke  had  them 
thrown  into  jail,  where  they  remained  up  to  the  time  when  they 
were  released  by  the  successor  of  Eovigo.  The  cities  of  Belida 
and  Coleah  were  fined  to  the  amount  of  1,100,000  francs;  but  the 
inhabitants  proved  too  poor  ever  to  pay  the  total  of  such  a  large 
sum. 

The  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Rovlgo  in  Africa  was 
closed  by  a  deed  which  brands  his  memory  yet  more  than  his 
participation  in  the  judgment  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien.  Two 
Arab  chiefs,  Ben-Mussa,  late  Kaid  of  the  Beni-Khalil,  and 
Messaud,  Kaid  of  the  El-Sebt,  were  denounced  to  the  commander 
as  bitter  enemies  of  the  French.  He  determined  on  their  doom, 
and  as  the  Kaids  took  care  not  to  come  to  Algiers,  the  old  police 


256  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

minister  tried  to  ensnare  them.  The  inhabitants  of  Belida  were 
about  that  time  to  send  a  deputation  to  him,  and  he  let  them  know 
his  wish  to  have  the  two  Kaids  to  join  the  deputation.  They  tarried 
for  some  time;  it  seems  they  suspected  the  trick,  and  required, 
therefore,  a  written  assurance  of  safe  conduct,  which  the  Duke 
sent  to  them.  The  Kaid  of  the  Kashnas,  a  friend  of  France, 
trusting  the  word  of  the  commander-in-chief,  accompanied  them. 
But  scarcely  had  these  chiefs  arrived  in  Algiers,  when  they  were 
handed  over  to  the  gendarmes  and  thrown  into  prison.  The 
Kaid  of  the  Kashnas,  indignant  at  this  breach  of  trust,  claimed  to 
share  the  prison  of  the  two  chiefs,  and  offered  his  hand  willingly 
to  the  fetters  of  the  French.  Messaud  and  Mussa  were  brought 
before  a  court-martial,  and,  under  a  pretence  of  felonj^,  unconnected 
with  politics,  sentenced  to  death,  and  beheaded  before  the  gate 
Bab-a-Zun,  in  the  public  market-place.  The  Duke  excused  this 
breach  of  his  pledge,  which  revolted  many  French  officers,  by 
saying  that  the  safe  conduct  was  issued  for  political,  not  for 
common  crimes.  But  the  dragoman  who  had  written  the  letter 
declares  that  no  mention  was  made  of  such  a  distinction.  Soon 
after  this  deed,  the  Duke  returned  to  France,  attacked  already  by 
the  malady  of  which  he  fell  a  victim  in  a  few  months. 

By  Savary's  administration,  the  system  of  his  predecessors  had 
been  entirely  reversed.  General  Berthezene  had  renounced  any 
direct  influence  on  the  Arabs,  and  when  it  was  indispensable  to 
deal  with  their  affairs,  he  did  it  exclusively  through  his  Agha, 
Ben-Mubarek.  But  this  Agha  had  now  become  an  enemy  of 
France;  no  other  chief  was  appointed  in  his  stead,  and  the  Duke 
of  Rovigo  renewed  the  direct  intercourse  with  the  Arabs.  That 
system  would  surely  have  been  the  best  had  it  been  pursued  from 
the  beginning ;  but  the  frequent  change  of  treatment  had  worse 
results  than  a  bad  system  consistently  carried  out.  The  Arabs, 
a  cunning  and  clear-sighted  people,  had  soon  penetrated  the 
character  of  the  French,  and  of  their  Government.  The  fickle  and 
inconsistent  behaviour  of  the  different  commanders  weakened  the 
effect  made  by  the  conquest  of  Algiers  all  over  Barbary. 


AND  OF  GENEEAL  VOIllOL.  257 

During   the  warlike   excitement  which,  in  the   province  of 
Algiers,  followed  the  slaughter  of  the  tribe  El-Uffia,  fighting 
went  on  fiercely  in  the  provinces  of  the  east  and  of  the  west. 
Ben-Aissa,  the  Khalifa  (lieutenant  or  vicegerent)  of  the  Bey  of 
Constantine,  had  besieged  the  city  of  Bona,  where  the  Turkish 
garrison  had  retired  into  the  Kasbah  (citadel) ;  but  induced  by  the 
persuasion  of  Captain  Yussuf,  threw  themselves  unconditionally 
into  the  hands  of  the  French.     Yussuf,  a  young  Italian  renegade, 
who  had  been  carried  away  when  a  child  by  Tunisian  pirates,  and 
brought  up  by  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  fully  possessed  a  knowledge  of 
both  the  Turkish  and  Arab  languages,  and  had  taken  service  with 
the  French  soon  after  the  conquest  of  Algiers.     Ibrahim,  who 
had   treacherously  shut   the   gates   of  the   citadel   against   the 
French  officers  when  they  came  to  his  aid  with  the  Zuaves,  and 
had  thus  caused  their  death,  was  now  expelled  from  the  citadel 
with  some  of  his  staunchest  partisans,  and  the  French  flag  reared 
on  it.     Ben-Aissa,  seeing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  French  party, 
evacuated  the  town,  but  not  before  plundering  it,  burning  down 
the  houses,  and  forcing  the  population  to  follow  him.    Yussuf  and 
his  Turks  took  possession  of  the  empty  houses  and  smoking  ruins. 
The  Arab  tribes,  incited  by  Ibrahim,  attacked  the  city  repeatedly; 
but  Yussuf,  who  had  in  the  meantime  reorganized  his  Turkish 
corps,  took  the  offensive,  and  made  several  sallies,  or  razzias,  as 
the  Arabs  call  these  expeditions,  the  principal  object  of  which  is 
the  plunder  and  destruction  of  the  encampments.     A   sufficient 
French  garrison  arrived  soon  in  Bona,  and  General  Monk  d'Uzer 
received  the  command.     This  general  knew  how  to  deal  with  the 
Arabs :    he  united   much  kindness  with  the  necessary  energy. 
Some  tribes  were  won  by  his  mildness,  as  for  instance  the  Beni- 
Urshin  and  Kharesas,  who  pastured  their  herds  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Bona.     Others,  as  the  Merdass  on  the  banks   of  the 
Mafragg,  and  the  Elmas  close  to  Lake  Fezzara,  were  forced  into 
subjection  by  his  severity.    He  punished  their  hostility  by  driving 
away  their  cattle,  and  they  came  at  last  to  ask  aman  (pardon),  and 
to  promise  the  strictest  neutrality.     Yussuf,  who  had  distinguished 


258  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OP  THE  DUKE  OF  EOVIGO 

himself  in  every  engagement  by  his  personal  bravery,  continued 
with  his  Turks  to  render  efficient  service  to  the  French. 

In  the  province  of  Oran,  the  French  made  less  progress  than 
in  the  province  of  Algiers.  Though  the  Moroccan  troops  had 
evacuated  the  city  of  Tlemsan  at  the  serious  protest  of  France, 
yet  Abd-el-Kader  made  greater  and  greater  progress.  General 
Boyer  attempted  several  forays  without  result.  The  Arabs  struck 
their  tents  at  every  approach  of  the  French  troops,  and  drove 
their  cattle  into  the  mountains.  But  as  often  as  the  French  had 
to  retreat  for  want  of  provisions,  the  Arab  horsemen  reappeared  on 
all  sides,  harassed  the  march  of  the  columns,  skirmished  with  the 
rear-guard,  and  cut  the  stragglers  to  pieces.  Not  a  single  tribe 
made  submission;  nay,  the  tribes  which,  from  the  proximity  of 
their  pasture-grounds  to  Oran,  had  most  to  fear  from  the  sallies  of 
the  French — the  Garrabas  and  the  Beni-Ammer — were  the  most 
hostile.  On  the  3d  and  4th  of  May,  the  city  of  Oran  was  attacked 
by  several  thousand  Arabs,  led  by  the  young  Emir  Abd-el-Kader, 
and  his  father,  the  Marabut  Sidi-Mahiddin,  in  person.  At  that 
time  the  cannon  and  howitzers  still  inspired  much  fear  in  the 
Arabs.  But  Abd-el-Kader,  a  most  excellent  horseman,  galloped 
up  and  down  close  to  the  walls,  and  paraded  his  horse  and  jocosely 
greeted  the  bullets  whistling  around  him.  He  displayed  this  cool 
courage  partly  to  raise  yet  higher  the  respect  of  his  countrymen 
for  himself,  and  partly  to  dispel  their  fear  of  the  cannon.  On  the 
9th  of  May,  however,  he  saw  that  he  could  not  succeed  against 
Oran,  and  left  the  neighbourhood.  But  his  Arabs  often  re- 
appeared again,  and  cut  off  all  intercourse  between  the  city  and  the 
surrounding  country.  General  Boyer  was  recalled  in  November 
1832,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Desmichels. 

Whilst  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  hoped  to  restore  his  health  in 
France,  the  administration  of  the  North- African  French  posses- 
sions was  provisionally  in  the  hands  of  General  Avizard.  He  in- 
stituted the  Bureau  Arabe,  which  was  to  devote  its  peculiar  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  the  Arabs,  and  to  carry  on  the  negotiations 
with  the  chiefs.     The  young  Captain  Lamorici^re,  since  so  cele- 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  259 

brated  in  the  history  of  his  country,  became  the  chief  of  that  Board, 
as,  besides  his  military  talents,  he  was  remarkable  for  the  zeal 
with  which  he  had  studied  the  language,  the  manners  and 
customs,  and  the  internal  relations  of  the  Arabs.  His  successor 
was  Captain  Pellissier,  likewise  a  good  administrator,  and,  more- 
over, an  excellent  author ;  but  the  opinion  in  Algiers  is  divided 
about  his  public  merits.  Even  his  numerous  opponents  agree  that 
his  views  are  enlightened  and  expansive,  that  his  knowledge  is 
profound,  and  that  his  character  is  upright  and  energetic.  But 
they  say  that  his  activity  was  disastrous  for  the  colony  on  ac- 
count of  his  obstinate  predilection  for  the  natives,  especially  for 
the  Arabs,  and  his  contempt  for  the  European  colonists,  who,  it 
must  be  confessed,  were  really,  to  a  great  extent,  either  the  very 
refuse  of  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  or  rapacious  jobbers. 

After  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Rovigo,  General  Voirol  became 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  African  army.  He  was  a  man  of 
frank  and  open  views,  and  immoveable  justness,  but  rather  too 
weak ;  the  very  reverse  of  his  predecessor,  of  whose  energy  he 
should  have  borrowed  the  surplus.  This  strange  and  sudden 
change  of  men  and  systems  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  slow  progress  of  the  French  in  Algeria.  Clauzel  had 
ventured  to  go  right  into  the  interior:  he  crossed  the  Atlas,  and 
captured  Medeah.  Berthez^ne  evacuated  that  city,  intrenched  the 
colony  on  the  coast,  and  would  not  have  any  intercourse  with  the 
Arabs,  but  threw  himself  into  the  hands  of  Moorish  intriguers. 
Rovigo  tried  to  restore  the  lost  prestige  of  the  French  arms  in 
the  interior,  and  intended  to  rule  over  the  tribes  directly  without 
a  native  Agha;  and  he  chose  for  this  aim  the  old  system  of  arbi- 
trary despotism  and  bloody  severity.  General  Voirol  might  have 
achieved  great  results  had  he  conciliated  the  excited  tribes  by 
moderation,  and  maintained,  at  the  same  time,  a  prompt  and 
severe  justice  against  malefactors.  But  he  was  too  weak:  he  did 
not  avenge  the  murder  of  Buseid,  the  Kaid  of  the  Beni-Khalils, 
nearly  the  only  chief  among  the  Arabs  who  never  had  betrayed 
the  French,  and  who  was  slain  for  his  adherence  to  the  Europeans. 


260  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

After  the  Arabs  had  been  excited  by  the  cruel  severity  of  the 
Duke  of  Rovigo,  they  took  the  lenity  of  General  Voirol  for  a  sign 
of  weakness,  and  renewed  their  audacious  insults. 

The  administration  of  General  Voirol  was,  on  the  whole,  peace- 
able. This  officer  had  great  merit  in  constructing  splendid  high- 
roads between  the  different  camps  and  villages;  and  not  less  in 
the  organization  of  the  Fhas,  or  territory  of  the  city,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  which  he  formed  a  corps  of  gendarmes,  all  natives. 
Already  his  predecessor  had  founded  two  European  colonist- 
villages,  Kuba  and  Deli-Ibrahim.  The  inhabitants  were  mostly 
poor  Germans,  who  originally  had  had  the  intention  of  going  to 
America,  but  could  not  afford  the  passage-money.  The  French 
Government  granted  to  these  helpless  men  the  soil,  the  material 
for  their  houses,  cattle,  agricultural  implements,  and  even  victuals, 
just  as  to  the  soldiers,  until  they  should  be  able  to  maintain 
themselves.  Thus  these  men  were  saved  from  starvation;  yet 
they  showed  little  gratitude.  Some  of  them  sold  the  cattle  and 
implements,  lived  in  idleness  and  dissipation,  and  spent  the 
money  in  drink.  Kuba,  situated  in  a  fine  but  unhealthy  neigh- 
bourhood, was  visited  by  diseases;  half  of  the  inhabitants  died; 
the  remaining  settlers  left  it,  and  two  years  after  its  foundation, 
this  village  was  empty  and  uninhabited,  and  its  cottages  tumbled 
into  ruins.  A  praiseworthy  measure  of  General  Voirol  was  the 
beginning  to  drain  the  plain  of  Metija.  For  that  gigantic  but 
necessary  undertaking,  he  employed  the  military  officers,  Arab 
and  Berber  labourers,  and  even  a  portion  of  the  arm3\  It  is  a 
pity  that  this  drainage  was  not  continued  systematically  under 
the  successors  of  Voirol.  The  works  for  draining  the  swamps, 
which  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bona  reach  the  walls  of  the  city, 
were  likewise  begun  during  his  administration. 

Already,  under  the  Duke  of  Rovigo,  the  occupation  of  the 
seaport  of  Bnjia  had  been  determined  upon.  A  protest  of  Eng- 
land gave  occasion  to  it.  An  English  merchant-vessel  having 
been  insulted  by  the  natives  in  the  roads  of  Bujia,  the  English 
Government  declared  to  France  that  if  she  could  not  prevent  such 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  261 

occurrences  on  a  coast  which  she  considered  her  own,  England 
would  herself  take  measures  for  punishing  such  insults.  The 
French  Government  considered  this  to  be  a  menace,  as  if  England 
intended  to  take  Bujia,  and  therefore  hastened  to  prevent  such  an 
occupation.  On  the  23d  September,  1833,  a  small  squadron, 
carrying  two  battalions  of  the  59th  regiment  of  the  line,  left  the 
roadstead  of  Toulon.  The  troops  landed  under  the  command  of 
General  Trezel  on  the  29th,  at  Bujia,  after  they  had  silenced  the 
fire  of  the  forts  and  of  the  citadel  by  the  cannon  of  the  French 
men-of-war.  General  Trezel  was  greatly  mistaken  when,  at  his 
departure  from  Toulon,  he  said  to  the  officers  of  the  expedition, 
"  Our  troops  are  not  destined  for  a  very  warlike  expedition;  they 
will  have  to  wield  rather  the  spade  and  the  axe,  than  the  sabre 
and  the  bayonet."  These  peaceful  expectations  were  cruelly  dis- 
appointed by  the  reception  which  the  expedition  experienced  from 
the  Kabyles.  The  resistance  of  the  inhabitants  was  nowhere  so 
gallant  and  so  obstinate  as  at  Bujia.  It  was  only  after  a  fierce 
fight  of  four  days  that  the  French  got  possession  of  the  place, 
after  they  had  destroyed  its  greatest  part  by  their  cannon.  All 
the  inhabitants  had  left  the  city  and  joined  the  Kabyles  of  the 
mountains.  The  French  occupied  empty  ruins,  in  which  nothing 
but  corpses  and  gore  had  remained;  the  population  had  carried 
away  all  their  moveables.  Duvivier,  chief  of  battalion,  was  ap- 
pointed Commander  of  Bujia,  and  earned  much  honour  there  by 
his  frequent  gallant  fights  with  the  Kabyles,  without  achieving  any 
important  result.  The  Kabyles  of  the  vicinity  of  Bujia  belong  to 
the  most  warlike  and  unruly  tribes  of  Barbary;  they  are  so 
deeply  imbued  with  religious  fanaticism  and  love  of  independence, 
that  in  spite  of  all  material  advantages  and  promises,  they  could 
not  be  induced  to  enter  into  peaceful  communication  with  the 
French. 

In  the  province  of  Algiers,  General  Voirol  had  won  some  tribes 
for  allies: — the  Kashna,  in  the  east  of  the  plain  of  Metija;  the 
Beni-Mussa,  in  the  most  fertile  part  of  the  plain;  and  a  portion  of 
the  Beni-Khalil,  in  its  centre.     Those  tribes  were,  on  the  whole, 


262  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

not  quite  friendly  to  France,  but  their  territory  was  so  near  to  the 
walls  of  Algiers,  and  so  much  within  the  reach  of  the  French, 
that  they  thought  it  advisable  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  con- 
querors, in  order  to  avoid  the  fate  of  the  El-Uffia.  Only  one  tribe 
entered  the  service  of  the  French,  the  Aribes,  formerly  powerful 
and  numerous  in  the  Sahara,  who  had  first  emigrated  to  the 
plateau  of  Hamsa,  but  having  met  with  ill-luck,  had  dispersed 
in  different  directions.  One  portion  of  them  went  to  the  Metija; 
but  as  they  had  no  territory  of  their  own,  they  lived  upon  theft. 
General  Voirol  granted  them  a  territory  east  of  Algiers,  close  to 
the  farm  named  Rassota;  he  formed  a  corps  of  irregular  Spahis  out 
of  their  numbers,  and  appointed  Ben-Zecri,  a  refugee  chief  of  the 
province  of  Constantine,  their  Kaid.  One  tribe  alone  disturbed  the 
peace  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers,  the  Hajutes,  who  made 
continual  irruptions  into  the  territory  of  the  Beni-Khalil  and  in 
the  Sahel.  The  Hajutes  are  Arabs;  they  dwell  in  a  fertile  terri- 
tory between  the  Shiffa  and  Shershel,  defended  by  swamps  on  the 
east  and  north.  Their  horses  are  excellent,  and  they  have  the 
reputation  of  being  the  best  horsemen  of  the  country.  Many  of 
them  belonged  to  the  auxiliaries  of  the  janissaries  during  the  sway 
of  the  Deys,  and  were  renowned  for  their  warlike  and  adventurous 
spirit.  At  the  time  of  the  conquest,  the  number  of  their  horsemen 
did  not  exceed  four  hundred ;  but  they  have  increased  in  number 
ever  since,  as  all  the  malefactors  of  the  other  tribes,  as  well  as  all 
the  individuals  eager  for  war  and  plunder,  fled  to  them  in  order  to 
take  part  in  the  forays  which  the  Hajutes  had  organized  against 
the  French,  and  against  their  Arab  allies.  Scarcely  a  day  passed 
without  some  bold  irruptions;  isolated  horsemen  were  plundered 
and  the  cattle  were  driven  away.  Such  a  condition  became  un- 
bearable, and  the  energetic  remonstrances  of  the  Beni-Khalil, 
who  had  most  to  suffer  from  the  robberies  of  the  neighbouring 
Hajutes,  roused  the  General  at  last  from  his  peaceable  apathy. 
Two  expeditions  were  undertaken  against  the  robber- tribe;  the 
first  failed;  the  other,  led  by  General  Br&,  met  with  complete 
success.     The  Beni-Khalil  and  Beni-Mussa,  who  had  joined  the 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  263 

French  columns,  recaptured  their  stolen  herds,  and  drove  the 
cattle  of  the  Hajutes  away  in  turn,  upon  which  the  tribe  made 
submission  for  a  time,  fearing  a  new  visit  from  the  French  columns. 
Kuider-ban-Rebeha,  their  Kaid,  appeared  personally  in  Algiers, 
and  was  invited  by  General  Voirol  to  dine  with  him.  The  com- 
manding appearance  of  the  chief  formed  at  that  time  the  absorb- 
ing topic  of  conversation  in  the  city. 

Whilst  the  province  of  Algiers  enjoyed  peace,  and  the  hostilities 
were  unimportant  in  the  province  of  Constantine,  w;ar  raged  in 
the  west.  General  Desmichels  was  a  restless,  active,  unprincipled 
officer;  brave  in  the  field,  tried  in  diplomatic  craft,  full  of  ambi- 
tion, and  of  an  independence  of  character  which  made  him  unfit 
for  a  subordinate  command.  New  to  the  country,  not  knowing  by 
experience  the  manner  of  war  and  the  way  of  thinking  of  the 
Arabs,  he  was  desirous  first  to  try  what  he  could  achieve  by  force 
against  them.  He  made  excursions  against  the  Garrabas  and 
Zmelas,  surprised  a  few  encampments,  and  drove  the  cattle 
away.  Then  he  released  the  prisoners,  in  order  to  see  what 
might  be  the  result  of  severity  united  with  mildness.  But  it  was 
already  too  late  to  adopt  such  a  course  of  policy.  Abd-el-Kader's 
power  and  influence  had  been  so  far  extended,  that  no  single 
tribe  dared  any  longer  to  make  a  convention  with  the  French  for 
itself  without  the  consent  of  the  other  tribes.  Some  females  of 
the  Zmelas  having  been  carried  away  by  one  of  the  French  ex- 
peditions, this  tribe  tried  to  come  to  an  agreement,  and  gave 
hostages  to  General  Desmichels  as  pledges  of  their  good  faith. 
But  Abd-el-Kader  surprised  the  Zmelas  with  his  horsemen,  and 
forced  them  to  give  up  all  intercourse  with  the  French,  and  again 
to  take  part  in  the  war  against  the  Christians,  in  spite  of  their 
pledge  and  their  hostages.  A  subjection  of  the  tribes  of  those 
provinces,  or  even  a  peace  with  them,  was  now  no  longer  possible 
for  the  French,  without  having  previously  either  annihilated  the 
power  of  Abd-el-Kader,  or  won  him  over  by  agreement.  His 
influence  extended  over  all  the  tribes  between  Mascara  and  the 
sea.     He  possessed  himself  likewise  of  the  city  of  Tlemsan,  and 


264  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO 

the  Turks  and  Kuruglis  did  not  oppose  him,  though  they  closed 
the  citadel  against  him.  Soon  after  the  conquest  of  Tlemsan, 
Sidi-Mahiddin  died, — Abd-el-Kader's  father,  the  celebrated  Mara- 
but  of  the  Hashems;  but  the  power  of  the  young  Emir,  and  the 
reverence  paid  to  him  and  his  family  by  all  the  tribes,  did  not 
decrease  in  consequence. 

On  the  3d  of  July  1833,  General  Desmichels  occupied  the 
harbour  and  the  forts  of  Arzew.  The  city  itself  (which  by  the 
instrumentality  of  Bethuna,  its  Kaid,  had  always  remained  in 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  French)  had  been  stormed  a  few 
days  before  by  the  army  of  Abd-el-Kader,  who  had  destroyed  the 
houses,  and  forced  the  inhabitants  to  emigrate.  Arzew  ceased 
•from  that  time  to  exist  as  an  Arab  city;  its  inhabitants  have 
again  become  savages,  and  live  now  among  the  Arab  tribes  of  the 
plain  of  Sig. 

Soon  after,  the  French  troops  occupied  likewise  the  city  of 
Mostagenem.  It  was  delivered  to  them  by  the  Turkish  Kaid, 
Ibrahim,  without  resistance.  General  Desmichels  left  it  to  the 
choice  of  the  inhabitants  either  to  remain  under  the  protection  of 
the  French,  or  to  leave  with  their  moveables.  The  great  ma- 
jority, above  one  thousand  families,  chose  the  latter  alternative, 
and  left  their  comfortable  houses,  their  splendid  gardens  and 
villas,  emigrating  to  the  interior.  The  sullen  fanaticism  of  the 
Moors  could  not  rouse  them  to  armed  resistance  against  the 
French ;  but  yet  it  was  powerful  enough  to  induce  them  to  ex- 
change their  effeminate  and  quiet  manner  of  life  for  the  rough 
habits  of  the  barbarous  Bedouins,  and  to  expose  themselves  rather 
to  the  exactions  of  the  chiefs,  who  despise  the  Hadars  (townfolks) 
most  heartily,  than  to  live  under  the  rule  of  Christians. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  Abd-el-Kader  and  General  Desmichels, 
who  both  led  their  troops  in  person,  fought  a  hard-contested 
bloody  fight  in  the  plain  of  Tlelat,  to  which  the  Emir  had  formally 
invited  the  French.  But  this  battle  too  remained  without  result. 
The  field-artillery  of  the  French  made  terrible  havoc  in  the 
swarms  of  Arab  horsemen;  but  the  French  columns  had  after  all 


AND  OF  GENERAL  VOIROL.  265 

to  retreat  for  want  of  provisions,  and  were  followed  by  the  restless 
enemy,  who  hovered  around  them  on  their  battle-horses  like  birds 
of  prey,  pouncing  upon  every  straggler,  and  attacking  the  column 
on  its  weakest  point  up  to  the  walls  of  Oran. 

General  Desmichels,  seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to  achieve 
an^'thing  by  force  of  arms,  in  a  country  where  the  army  could  not 
find  either  food  or  shelter,  and  against  a  people  which  easily  en- 
dured the  most  dreadfal  fatigues,  and  seeing  that  even  victorious 
fights  did  riot  lead  to  any  result,  determined  on  negotiation. 
After  a  long  correspondence,  an  agreement  was  signed  between 
the  General  and  the  Emir,  which  Desmichels  was  audacious 
enough  to  conclude  without  the  authority  or  even  the  know- 
ledge of  either  of  his  superiors,  the  General  Yoirol,  or  the  mi- 
nister-at-war.  The  treaty  had  two  clauses:  the  first  allowed 
the  Arabs  to  buy  arms  and  ammunition  in  the  French  seaports ;  the 
Emir  received  the  monopoly  of  the  exportation  of  grain,  and  the 
Arab  deserters  were  surrendered  to  him.  In  the  second  clause, 
Abd-el-Kader  promised  to  stop  the  hostilities,  to  return  the  French 
prisoners  and  deserters,  and  to  allow  the  Christians  to  travel  with- 
out molestation  in  the  interior,  under  the  protection  and  with  the 
firman  of  the  Emir.  General  Desmichels  found  it  advisable  to 
keep  the  first  clause  of  this  treaty  secret,  and  to  submit  only  the 
second  to  his  Government.  The  truth  became  known  only  under 
the  successor  of  General  Yoirol,  and  Desmichels  was  immediately 
recalled.  The  majority  of  the  well-informed  Algerines  explain 
this  strange  behaviour  of  the  General  by  asserting  that  Abd-el- 
Kader  had  granted  to  him  a  share  of  the  profits  of  the  corn- 
monopoly. 

The  administration  of  the  Regency  of  Algeria  received  a  new 
organization  towards  the  end  of  1835.  The  command  of  the 
army,  and  the  supreme  administration  of  the  country,  now  styled 
"  The  French  possessions  of  North  Africa,"  was  given  to  a  Gover- 
nor-General; Lieutenant-General  Count  Drouet  d'Erlon  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  governorship.  The  nomination  of  Count  Drouet 
d'Erlon,  who  had  not  sought  the  post,  was  an  unfortunate  one. 


266  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ROVIGO,  ETC. 

As  with  most  of  the  veterans  of  the  empire,  age,  and  the  results 
of  harassing  military  life,  had  debilitated  his  energies  and  his 
faculties ;  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  see  his  way  through  the  com- 
plicated relations  of  the  country,  which  only  a  young  and  enter- 
prizing  genius  could  have  mastered.  Of  all  the  used-up  men 
who  had  conducted  the  affairs  of  Algeria  since  1830,  General 
Voirol  was  the  most  happy.  He  was  not  responsible  for  the  im- 
mense blunder  of  the  treaty  with  Abd-el-Kader,  and  he  protested 
against  it  in  Paris  to  the  last.  In  the  province  of  Algiers,  he 
knew  how  to  restore  peace  and  order.  With  a  little  more  energy 
he  might  have  succeeded  in  installing  native  chiefs  in  the  cities  of 
the  interior,  namely,  in  Medeah  and  Miliana,  who  would  have  been 
allies  of  the  French,  and  might  have  established  a  rival  power 
against  the  ambitious  Emir  of  Mascara.  This  neglect  of  General 
Voirol,  and  the  treaty  of  General  Desmichels,  had  the  most  disas- 
trous results.  But  the  administration  of  Voirol  has  the  merit  of 
having  organized  the  country  occupied  by  the  French;  nor  did 
any  of  his  predecessors  or  successors  in  office,  before  Bugeaud, 
ever  do  as  much  as  he  did  in  this  respect.  This  fact  was  like- 
wise fully  acknowledged  by  the  European  settlers  in  Algiers,  and 
the  regrets  and  best  wishes  of  Mohammedans,  as  well  as  Christians, 
followed  the  vessel  which  carried  that  noble  man  back  to  the  shores 
of  France.* 

*  He  died  in  September  1853. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON,  ETC.     267 


CHATPEK  V. 

ADMINISTRATION    OF    COUNT    DROUET   d'ERLON,    AND    SECOND    ADMINIS- 
TRATION   OF   MARSHAL   CLAUZEL. 

Peace  and  tranquillity  prevailed  during  the  first  months  of  the 
administration  of  Count  Drouet  d'Erlon  in  the  vicinity  of  all  the 
cities  occupied  by  the  French  army ;  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  tribes  around  Bujia,  the  natives  remained  in  commercial  inter- 
course with  the  French.  They  visited  the  fairs,  and  seemed  to 
be  well  pleased  when  they  returned  with  plenty  of  money  to  their 
wildernesses.  But  this  state  of  things  did  not  last  beyond  a  few 
months;  there  were  people  on  both  sides  who  began  to  be  tired  of 
peace.  With  the  French,  it  was  principally  the  ambitious  officers 
who  longed  for  warlike  exploits,  for  advancement  and  decorations, 
and  who  valued  their  personal  interests  and  the  glory  of  the 
French  army  higher  than  the  extension  of  the  settlement  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  colony.  One  of  the  first  measures  of  the  Gover- 
nor was  to  send  troops  to  Buffarik,  where  the  principal  fair  of  the 
Metija  is  held,  and  to  form  there  a  camp,  which,  in  his  honour, 
received  the  name  of  Camp  d'Erlon.  The  situation  of  Buffarik 
in  the  centre  of  the  Metija,  is  of  the  highest  importance.  Camp 
d'Erlon  soon  became  the  principal  place  of  arms  in  the  vicinity  of 
Algiers.  In  a  short  time  many  houses  were  raised  in  the  large 
plain,  and  the  view  of  the  wine-shops  and  coffee-houses  contrasted 
strangely  with  the  surrounding  wilderness. 

Lieutenant- Colonel  Marey,  a  very  wealthy  officer,  who  had 
high  patronage  in  Paris,  became  the  Agha  of  the  Arabs,  and  the 
Bureau  Arahe  was  discontinued.  The  new  Agha  took  the  com- 
mand of  the  Spahis,  and  had  to  exert  a  somewhat  extensive 
authority  over  the  Arab  tribes  of  the  Metija.  He  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  eccentricity.  The  manners  and  customs  of  the  country 
suited  his  taste;  he  let  his  beard  grow,  shaved  his  hair,  wore  a 
turban,    and  a  rich  attire  of  Moorish  cut.      Though  aping   the 


268  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

manners  of  the  natives  in  such  external  ways,  he  did  not  become 
familiar  with  them;  the  Hajutes  scoffed  at  his  grotesque  appear- 
ance, and  disowned  him  when  he  interfered  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  their  tribe.  A  theft  of  cattle  was  committed  in  the  Sahel,  and 
the  blame  was  laid  upon  the  Hajutes.  The  opportunity  was 
eagerly  seized  of  again  exchanging  some  bullets  with  the  Be- 
douins, and  a  column,  under  the  command  of  General  Rapatel, 
was  sent  to  chastise  the  offending  tribe.  But  the  Arabs  had  been 
on  their  guard,  and  retreated  with  their  tents,  wives,  and  herds,  to 
the  forest  of  Khorasa.  General  Rapatel  found  only  a  few  empty 
huts,  which  he  destroyed;  but  the  Hajutes  now  continued  their 
depredations  and  incursions  with  increasing  boldness  up  to  the 
peace  of  the  Tafna,  and  all  the  expeditions  against  them  remained 
without  result. 

In  the  interior,  the  power  of  the  Emir  Abd-el-Kader,  who, 
since  he  had  concluded  peace  with  the  French,  could  turn  all  his 
forces  against  his  rivals,  rose  in  a  most  alarming  degree.  He 
forced  successively  all  the  tribes  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Shelif  and 
of  the  plain  of  Ceirat  to  acknowledge  his  supremacy,  and  to  pay 
him  the  ashur  (a  tribute  paid  in  raw  produce).  The  Beni- Ammer, 
one  of  the  most  powerful  tribes  of  the  province,  refused  to  pay 
this  tax.  Abd-el-Kader,  before  employing  force  against  them, 
took  advantage  of  the  occasional  presence  of  some  of  their  Sheikhs 
in  Mascara,  and  delivered  such  a  pious,  fiery,  and  persuasive 
sermon  from  the  pulpit  of  the  great  mosque,  that  those  chiefs 
were  won  to  him,  and|  with  them  all  their  tribe.  The  most  im- 
portant rival  of  Abd-el-Kader  was  now  Mustapha-Ben-Ismael,  a 
powerful  old-  man,  who  had  been  Agha  of  the  province  under  the 
Bey  of  Oran,  and  who  retained  his  influence  as  Arab  chief  even 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  janissaries.  The  growing  jealousy 
between  the  old  warrior  and  the  young  Marabut  came  to  a  bloody 
outbreak.  Mustapha  surprised  the  camp  of  Abd-el-Kader,  de- 
feated and  dispersed  his  troops,  and  nearly  slew  his  enemy.  The 
Emir  had  two  horses  killed  under  him,  and,  for  his  ultimate 
rescue,  he  had  to  thank  the  assistance  of  his  cousin,  a  most  power- 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         269 

ful  man,  who  carried  him  off  from  the  fight,  and  lent  his  own 
horse  to  the  wounded  chief.  Mustapha  wished  now  to  come  to 
terms  with  the  French ;  but  they  refused,  since  they  were  bound 
to  Abd-el-Kader  by  Desmichels'  treaty.  The  triumph  of  Mustapha 
lasted,  therefore,  but  for  a  short  time ;  in  a  second  battle  he  was 
defeated,  and  had  to  implore  the  mercy  of  the  young  victor,  which 
was  granted  to  him.  After  that  victory,  Abd-el-Kader,  who  was 
supplied  by  General  Desmichels  with  muskets,  turned  against  the 
Angads,  and  took  their  chief,  El-Gomary,  prisoner.  But  now  a 
mighty  chief  of  the  Sahara,  Mussa-el-Darkui,  came  with  a  large 
army  of  horsemen,  and  announced  that  Allah  had  called  him  from 
his  sandy  regions  in  order  to  throw  the  intruding  infidels  into  the 
sea,  and  to  cut  off  by  sword  and  torch  all  their  friends  and  allies, 
especially  the  son  of  Mahiddin.  This  fanatical  desert-chief  found 
numerous  adherents :  all  the  adventurers  fond  of  plunder,  and  the 
enthusiasts  of  the  tribes  through  whose  territory  he  passed,  joined 
his  host.  At  the  tidings  of  Mussa's  approach,  Abd-el-Kader 
advanced  to  the  Shelif,  subdued  the  important  tribe  of  the  Flitas, 
which,  led  by  the  Emir's  own  brother,  had  revolted  against  him, 
and  halted  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  remembering  the  threats 
of  the  French  Commander-in-Chief,  who  had  announced  that  the 
crossing  of  the  Shelif,  which  was  the  acknowledged  boundary  of 
Abd-el-Kader's  territory,  would  be  taken  for  a  declaration  of 
war.  The  ambitious  young  chief  seemed  to  hesitate,  and  to  pon- 
der over  the  grave  results  of  a  breach  with  the  French,  how  far 
they  might  affect  his  contested  and  not  yet  firmly  established 
power.  But  when  he  heard  that  Mussa-el-Darkui  had  triumph- 
antly entered  Medeah,  the  approaching  danger  overcame  all  other 
considerations  ;  he  crossed  the  Shelif,  and  occupied  the  city  of 
Miliana,  where  the  people  received  him  with  joyful  enthusiasm, 
and  the  late  Agha  of  the  French  (under  Berthezene),  El-Haji- 
Mahiddin-Ben-Mubarek,  and  Mohammed-el-Barkani,  late  Kaid  of 
Shershel,  entered  into  his  service.  Abd-el-Kader  proceeded  from 
Miliana  onward  to  meet  the  army  of  Mussa,  who  advanced  from 
Medeah.     The  two  enemies  met  at  the  farm  named  Amura,  in 


270  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

the  territory  of  the  Summata.  The  battle  lasted  long  without 
results.  The  ragged  Bedouins  of  the  Sahara  and  the  cavalry  of 
the  Emir  wheeled  long  round  one  another,  yelling  like  birds  of 
prey  which  show  their  claws  before  they  come  to  a  serious  fight. 
Abd-el-Kader  had  a  more  numerous  infantry  than  his  enemy, 
and  even  some  cannon  which  he  had  got  from  Desmichels  :  these 
decided  the  defeat  of  Mussa.  The  sunburnt  horsemen  of  the 
Sahara,  who  never  had  witnessed  the  effect  of  artillery,  dispersed 
at  the  thunder,  and  could  not  be  rallied  again.  The  Chief  of  the 
Desert  fled  with  a  few  followers  to  his  sandy  home,  pursued  and 
harassed  by  the  horsemen  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and  they  never 
attempted  to  return.  Mussa' s  baggage  and  wives  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  victor ;  but  Abd-el-Kader  treated  the  females  with 
respect,  and  generously  sent  them  back  to  his  defeated  enemy. 
The  reception  of  the  Emir  at  Medeah  was  as  enthusiastic  as  at 
Miliana.  Tribute  was  everywhere  readily  paid  to  him,  because 
the  tribes  trusted  that  he  would  maintain  peace  and  order.  Mo- 
hammed-el-Barkani  was  appointed  Bey  of  Miliana. 

After  the  defeat  of  Mussa,  no  rival  rose  any  more  against  the 
Marabut  of  the  Hashems.  All  the  cities  and  tribes  of  the  pro- 
vinces of  Oran  and  of  Titteri  gave  him  the  title  of  Sultan  ;  the 
more  remote  tribes  sent  ambassadors  and  presents.  He  had  now 
an  easy  game.  His  most  dangerous  trials  were  during  the  time 
when  the  religious  fanaticism  of  the  Arabs,  the  basis  of  his  power, 
was  likely  to  be  turned  against  him, — when  his  rivals  decried 
him  as  a  friend  of  the  infidels,  and  summoned  the  enthusiasts  in 
the  name  of  the  Prophet  and  of  the  Koran  to  defection  and  to  his 
destruction.  It  was  then  that  Abd-el-Kader's  genius  displayed 
itself.  A  less  resolute  chief  would  have  hastened  to  break  the 
peace  with  the  French,  and  to  preach  once  more  the  holy  war,  in 
order  to  turn  the  fanaticism  of  the  masses  to  his  own  account,  and 
thus  conjure  up  the  storm  which  inevitably  would  have  destroyed 
any  less  energetic  and  less  cunning  leader.  But  Abd-el-Kader 
possessed  in  the  highest  degree  that  strong  confidence  in  himself 
which  always  accompanies  genius.     The  outcry  of  blind  fanatics 


A><D  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         271 

did  not  disconcert  him  ;  he  fronted  the  most  dangerous  crisis  ho 
ever  had  to  meet,  since  his  accession  to  power,  with  courage  and 
resolution,  and  overcame  all  dangers  with  such  constant  good 
fortune,  as  could  not  fail  to  make  the  deepest  impression  on  a 
people  which  attributes  all  greatness  to  the  special  favour  of  God. 
They  were  reminded  of  the  prophecy  of  the  dervish  of  Mecca. 
Moreover,  the  Emir  had  probably  whispered  to  the  most  influential 
Sheikhs  and  Marabuts  that  his  peace  with  the  Christians  was  false 
play,  and  that,  as  soon  as  all  the  tribes  had  joined  him,  he  w'ould 
turn  his  arms  against  the  intruding  foreigners,  being  called  by 
Allah  to  save  Islam  in  Africa,  and  to  restore  a  great  Arab  empire. 

The  resolution  which  Abd-el-Kader  showed  in  the  interior 
was  in  just  proportion  to  the  cunning  and  craft  he  displayed 
in  his  dealings  with  the  French.  He  carried  on  his  inter- 
course with  Count  Drouet  d'Erlon  by  the  Jew  Ben-Durand,  an 
uncommonly  sly  diplomatist,  who  spoke  French  with  facility,  and 
knew  how  to  treat  Frenchmen.  This  intriguer  succeeded  so  com- 
pletely in  getting  the  confidence  of  the  old  Governor,  that  he  was 
invited  to  his  table,  and  accompanied  him  in  his  drives  through 
the  town  and  its  neighbourhood.  Ben-Durand  tried  to  persuade 
the  Governor  that  Abd-el-Kader  was  intent  in  preparing  the  tribes 
of  the  interior  for  the  direct  sway  of  the  French,  by  establishing 
the  affairs  of  the  Arabs  on  a  European  footing,  and  so  paving  the 
way  for  civilization.  The  old  Count  was  deceived  ;  and,  far  from 
enforcing  his  treaty  against  Abd-el-Kader  as  to  the  crossing  of 
the  Shelif,  he  sent  an  officer  of  his  staff  to  compliment  the  Emir 
on  his  success,  sending  him  even  presents,  which  of  course  were 
received  as  tribute. 

Whilst  the  weak  Governor-General  did  not  see  the  dangers  of 
a  union  of  the  tribes  under  the  sway  of  a  native  prince,  the 
Commander  of  Oran  took  a  course  just  contrary  to  that  of  his 
superior,  by  trying  to  detach  the  more  important  chiefs  from  the 
cause  of  the  Emir.  General  Trezel  had  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  Desmichels,  and  he  began  immediately  to  carry  on  ne- 
gotiations with  the  most  influential  Sheikhs  of  the  Duairs  and 


272  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DEOUET  d'eRLON, 

Zmelas,  who  lived  close  to  Oran,  until  he  succeeded  in  persuading 
them  to  abandon  the  Emir.  Abd-el-Kader,  informed  of  those 
proceedings,  sent  one  of  his  Aghas  with  some  troops  towards 
Oran,  in  order  to  force  the  Duairs  and  Zmelas  to  strike  their 
tents,  and  to  carry  them  away  into  the  interior,  where  they  could 
not  come  into  contact  with  the  French.  Those  tribes  now  hastily 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  French  General,  and  claimed  protection 
against  the  persecution  of  Abd-el-Kader.  Trezel,  a  man  of 
energy,  immediately  gathered  all  his  troops,  and  started  with  them 
on  the  16th  of  June  from  Oran;  proceeding  about  twenty  miles 
to  the  south  in  order  to  cover  the  territory  of  the  tribes.  The 
Agha  of  the  Emir  retreated  at  the  approach  of  the  French,  and 
General  Trezel  advanced  now  to  the  plain  of  Tlelat.  He  con- 
cluded here  a  formal  treaty  with  the  Duairs  and  Zmelas,  accord- 
ing to  which  these  tribes  entered  the  service  of  France.  Trezel 
now  wrote  a  threatening  letter  to  Abd-el-Kader,  requiring  him 
to  give  up  his  pretensions  of  suzerainty  over  the  tribes  who  had 
recognized  French  sovereignty.  The  Arab  chief  answered  that 
his  religion  forbade  him  to  leave  Mussulmans  under  the  sway  of 
infidels,  and  that  he  was  determined  to  pursue  the  rebel  tribes  up 
to  the  walls  of  Oran.  At  the  same  time  he  claimed  his  Vakil 
(representative)  from  Oran,  in  return  for  the  French  Consul  in 
Mascara.  This  amounted  of  course  to  a  declaration  of  war,  and 
the  passionate  Trezel  advanced  immediately  to  the  banks  of  the 
Sig.  Though  he  had  not  sufficient  provisions  for  more  than  a 
few  days,  yet  he  proceeded  to  attack  Abd-el-Kader,  who  was  en- 
camped there  with  his  troops,  and  had  issued  proclamations  to  all 
the  faithful  for  the  war  against  the  infidels.  The  first  engage- 
ment took  place  in  the  wood  of  Muley-Ismael,  half  way  between 
Oran  and  Mascara.  The  battle  was  contested  with  great  exas- 
peration on  both  sides :  the  skirmishers  fought  from  bush  to  bush. 
At  last  the  Arabs  were  dislodged  from  the  wood ;  but  the  French 
suffered  severe  loss.  Colonel  Oudinot,  who  commanded  the 
French  cavalry,  fell,  and  his  corpse  was  with  difficulty  saved 
from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.     The  chief  of  Abd-el-Kader'3 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.        273 

cavalry,  his  Khalifa,  was  likewise  slain,  and  the  Arabs  disap- 
peared. The  small  French  army  halted  for  a  short  time  on  the 
banks  of  the  Sig;  but  General  Trezel  had  likewise  to  retreat 
from  want  of  provisions,  and  from  the  difficulty  of  transporting 
the  wounded.  He  topk  the  direction  of  Arzew.  But  when  his 
weary  troops  had  reached  the  banks  of  the  streamlet  Makta,  they 
were  suddenly  attacked  by  the  whole  force  of  Abd-el-Kader,  who 
had  gathered  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  horsemen.  The  French 
columns  were  thrown  into  confusion ;  several  companies  who  had 
to  occupy  the  hills  flanking  the  way  were  pushed  back  by  the 
Arabs;  a  panic  seized  the  Foreign  Legion;  one  of  its  battalions 
behaved  with  cowardice,  shouting  ^^  Sauve  qui  peuU"  and  threw 
itself,  fleeing,  on  the  other  battalion,  augmenting  the  confusion 
dreadfully.  The  other  battalion  fought  bravely,  but  it  was  com- 
posed of  soldiers  of  all  nations, — Poles,  Germans,  Dutch,  and 
Spaniards,  and  commanded  by  French  officers  whom  they  did 
not  understand;  they  knew  only  the  words  of  command  :  it  was  in 
vain  to  appeal  to  their  soldiers'  heart,  and  try  to  kindle  enthusi- 
asm. The  fine  speeches  of  the  officers  discouraged  them  rather 
by  reminding  them  of  their  danger:  the  waggons  in  which  the 
wounded  were  transported  stuck  in  the  swamps  of  the  Makta;  the 
waggoners,  in  fear  of  the  enemy,  had  the  cowardice  to  cut  the 
traces  and  escape  on  the  horses,  leaving  their  unhappy  comrades 
to  the  yatagan  of  the  Bedouins.  One  waggon  only,  with  twenty 
wounded,  was  saved,  since  the  Serjeant  who  commanded  it 
threatened  to  shoot  any  waggoner  who  should  dare  to  for- 
sake his  wounded  comrades ;  and  so  it  was  rescued  from  the 
swamp  in  spite  of  the  bullets  of  the  enemy.  The  confusion  had 
in  the  meantime  seized  all  the  other  corps,  officers  and  soldiers  : 
no  order  was  obeyed  :  the  yelling  of  the  attacking  Arabs,  and  the 
cries  of  distress  uttered  by  the  pursued,  drowned  the  voice  of  the 
commanders.  Companies  and  battalions,  following  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation,  fled  on  the  way  to  Arzew.  The  author  has 
heard  the  defeat  on  the  Makta  described  by  several  eye-wit- 
nesses.    There  were  amongst  them  men  who    (as  for  instance 


274  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

the  Commander  Saint  Fargeau)  had  been  present  at  the  greatest 
battles  of  the  Empire,  at  Liitzen,  Dresden,  and  Leipzig.  All 
these  officers  unanimously  affirmed,  that  in  spite  of  powder, 
smoke,  and  roaring  of  cannon,  those  great  battles  were  by  far  less 
dreadful  than  the  scenes  on  the  Makta,  where  the  wounded  knew 
that  they  were  pursued  by  an  enemy  who  had  no  mercy.  They 
ran  with  bleeding  wounds  as  long  as  their  strength  supported 
them,  and  when  the  loss  of  blood  forced  them  to  stop,  they  en- 
treated their  comrades  to  kill  them,  that  they  might  not  be 
exposed  to  the  cruelty  of  the  pursuing  savages.  Some  began  to 
sing  the  Marseillaise^  others  prayed ;  shouts  of  courage  and  de- 
spair, war- hymns  and  prayers,  filled  the  air.  In  such  a  desperate 
position,  the  army  was  saved  only  by  the  energetic  self-sacrifice 
of  a  small  number  of  resolute  men  who  had  not  lost  their  pre- 
sence of  mind,  and  who  voluntarily  formed  the  rear-guard,  continu- 
ally repulsing  the  attack  of  the  enemy.  It  was  principally  the 
mounted  rifles  [Chasseurs  d^Afrique)  who,  though  at  last  reduced 
to  some  forty  men,  constantly  attacked  the  pursuing  enemy  and 
slackened  the  pursuit.  They  had  in  Captain  Bernard  a  heroic 
leader.  About  forty  or  fifty  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  corps 
joined  them  voluntarily :  but  for  this  handful  of  heroes,  all  the 
column  would  have  been  destroyed.  At  last  they  reached  Arzew, 
where,  ashamed  of  their  defeat,  they  rallied  again.  Their  loss  was 
about  five  hundred  dead ;  but  the  moral  influence  of  the  event  was 
beyond  calculation.  The  natives  ceased  to  believe  the  French 
invincible  even  in  pitched  battles ;  and  all  the  tribes  turned  to  the 
young  Emir,  who  displayed  five  hundred  French  heads,  one  can- 
non, and  the  camp-baggage,  as  trophies  of  his  victory.  The 
ill-fated  Trezel,  who  had  given  evidence  of  his  great  personal 
bravery  and  great  incapacity  for  command,  was  removed.  But 
public  indignation  in  France  turned  justly  against  the  Gover- 
nor of  Algiers,  whose  weakness  and  indulgence  had  given  such 
power  to  Abd-el-Kader,  and  had  caused  the  defeat  on  the  Makta. 
Drouet  d'Erlon  was  accordingly  replaced  by  Marshal  Clauzcl, 
whose  appointment  caused  no  small  satisfaction  among  the  Euro- 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.  275 

pean   settlers  in  Algeria,  as  by  his   first  administration  he  was 
known  as  the  most  fervid  defender  of  the  African  settlement. 

The  very  day  of  the  arrival  of  Marshal  Clauzel  in  Algiers 
(10th  of  August  1835),  the  cholera  broke  out,  and  raged  for  a 
whole  month  with  the  most  dreadful  violence.  The  mortality 
was  greater  amongst  the  natives  than  amongst  the  Europeans; 
yet  there  died  about  1600  men  of  the  French  army.  The  great 
expeditions  which  the  Marshal  had  planned,  were  for  the  moment 
stopped.  In  the  meantime,  troops  and  material  of  war  were  sent 
from  Toulon  to  Oran,  since  the  French  Government  wished,  as 
soon  as  possible,  to  efface  the  bad  impression  which  the  defeat  on 
the  Makta  had  produced  both  in  France  and  in  Algeria.  On  the 
26th  of  November  1835,  an  army  of  11,000  men  undertook  the 
march  from  Oran  to  Mascara.  Marshal  Clauzel  had  the  com- 
mand ;  the  Generals  Oudinot,  Perregaux,  and  d' Arlanges,  served 
under  him.  The  Prince  of  Orleans  accompanied  them.  Abd-el- 
Kader's  resistance  to  that  small  but  picked  army,  which  was  suffi- 
ciently provided  in  every  way,  was  much  slighter  than  expected. 
The  expedition  to  Mascara  was  one  of  the  most  successful  feats 
of  the  French  arms.  Marshal  Clauzel  commanded  with  so  great 
a  skill  that  even  his  personal  enemies  in  the  army  were  delighted. 
All  the  march  by  the  plain  of  the  Sig,  where  the  Marshal  in- 
duced the  Arabs  to  believe  that  he  was  taking  the  direction  to- 
wards Mostagenem,  was  a  series  of  admirable  manoeuvres,  dis- 
playing both  the  talent  of  the  commander  and  the  excellent  drill- 
ing of  the  army.  This  campaign  was  in  every  respect  most  in- 
structive for  the  younger  officers  of  the  army,  as  even  Pellissier, 
the  fiercest  opponent  of  the  Marshal,  avows.  The  Arabs  made 
some  resistance  on  the  Sig  and  Ilabrah.  They  obstinately  de- 
fended themselves  behind  the  sepulchral  temples  of  the  Marabuts 
of  the  family  of  Sidi-Mubarek.  But  they  were  driven  from 
every  position.  Abd-el-Kader  here,  for  the  first  time,  made  use 
of  his  artillery  against  the  French ;  but  he  kept  it  at  so  great  a 
distance  as  to  be  of  no  avail.  The  Duke  of  Orleans  did  not  com- 
mand any  one  brigade,  but  as  a  volunteer  he  went  to  all  the 


276  ADMINISTRATION  OP  COUNT  DEOUET  d'eRLON, 

points  where  the  fight  was  hottest,  and  received  even  a  slight 
wound  in  the  thigh.  In  bivouac  he  mingled  with  the  soldiers, 
entered  into  conversation  with  them,  and  amused  himself  with 
their  chat  around  the  camp-fire.  Whoever  is  unacquainted  with 
the  susceptibility,  the  power  of  invention,  and  the  humour  of  the 
French  soldier,  can  have  no  idea  of  the  originality  of  the  bivouac 
scenes  and  camp-life  in  Africa. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  the  vanguard  of  the  French  army 
entered  Mascara.  All  the  Mussulman  population  had  left  the 
town;  the  Jews  alone  remained.  The  bands  of  Abd-el-Kader, 
who  had  plundered  Mascara  before  the  French  entered  the  city, 
committed  the  greatest  outrages  against  those  poor  people. 
Females  were  violated,  men  ill-treated,  and  these  horrors  did  not 
cease  even  when  the  vanguard  of  the  French,  which  was  com- 
posed of  Zuaves,  had  arrived;  for,  as  the  soldiers,  greedy  for 
plunder,  did  not  find  the  hoped-for  treasures,  they  gave  vent  to 
the  anger  of  their  deluded  expectations  on  the  poor  Jews  with 
shameful  brutality,  which  the  officers  could  not  immediately  stop. 
The  arrival  of  the  staff  put  an  end  to  the  outrages.  Marshal 
Clauzel  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  took  possession  of  the  palace  of 
Abd-el-Kader,  whilst  the  army  remained  outside  in  camp.  A 
■proposal  was  made  to  Ibrahim,  late  Commander  of  Mostagenem, 
to  remain  an  Mascara  with  the  Duairs,  Zmelas,  and  a  few  Turkish 
regulars.  But  the  chief  saw  too  clearly  that  without  the  aid  of 
French  troops  he  could  not  maintain  himself  in  the  interior.  He 
therefore  declined  the  proposal,  and  declared  that  he  would  rather 
return  with  the  army.  Marshal  Clauzel  thereupon  resolved  to 
evacuate  and  to  destroy  Mascara.  In  order  to  justify  this  singular 
resolution,  he  described  Mascara  in  his  official  report  as  an  in- 
significant position,  not  worthy  to  be  erected  into  a  Beylik.  This 
representation  was  eminently  untrue,  and  the  Marshal  could  not 
have  expressed  his  military'  conviction  sincerely,  since  Mascara 
is,  according  to  all  the  most  instnicted  officers,  the  most  important 
point  in  the  province  of  Oran.  Whoever  occupies  that  city  with  a 
garrison  strong  enough  to  make  excursions,  holds  sway  over  the 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         277 

two  largest  and  most  fertile  pasture  grounds  of  the  province, 
namely,  the  plains  of  Egghres  and  Ceirat,  north  and  south  of 
Mascara.  The  numerous  tribes  inhabiting  them  would  not 
easily  be  induced  to  leave  their  dwellings,  where  the  fields  are  so 
fruitful,  and  the  herds  find  green  pasture  the  whole  year  through. 
They  would  first  retire,  but  soon  negotiate  with  the  lord  of  Mas- 
cara, and,  after  all,  submit  to  the  power  which  threatens  them  from 
the  immediate  vicinity.  Besides,  Abd-el-Kader's  power  was 
centred  in  Mascara.  Here  lay  the  nucleus  of  his  force ;  the  other 
tribes  joined  him  only  because  he  was  the  mightiest  of  the  chiefs. 
Close  to  Mascara  extends  the  territory  of  the  Hasheras,  the  tribe 
to  which  he  belonged,  in  which  his  Marabut  family  had  always 
exercised  the  greatest  influence.  The  hermitage  of  Sidi-Mahiddin, 
and  Kashruh,  the  cemetery  of  Abd-el-Kader's  ancestors,  both 
sacred  places  which  attract  the  pilgrims,  are  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Mascara.  These  points  once  firmly  grasped  in  the  hands 
of  the  Christians,  the  religious  influence  of  the  young  Marabut 
would  soon  have  been  gone.  Men  who  had  a  deeper  insight  into 
the  relations  of  the  province  of  Oran  than  the  Marshal,  and  espe- 
cially the  French  officers  who,  as  Captain  Daumas  and  Colonel 
Mauzion,  had  lived  in  Mascara,  knew  perfectly  well  the  high  im- 
portance of  that  city,  which  was  underrated  by  Clauzel,  either 
from  blundering  superficiality,  or  some  other  unknown  reason. 

On  the  9th  of  December,  the  French  army  retreated.  Mascara 
was  to  be  destroyed,  but  the  stone  houses  resisted  the  flames,  and 
a  sudden  rain  quenched  the  fire  on  the  few  points  where  it  had 
begun  to  spread.  Only  the  palace  of  Abd-el-Kader  and  the  gates 
of  the  city  were  demolished;  the  other  buildings,  though  injured  and 
defiled  by  the  soldiers,  were,  immediately  after  the  evacuation,  again 
taken  possession  of  by  the  returning  inhabitants.  The  Emir,  after 
the  capture  of  Mascara,  had  remained  nearly  alone  in  Kashruh, 
at  the  tombs  of  his  ancestors.  All  the  tribes,  even  the  Hashems, 
had  forsaken  him,  under  the  impression  that  the  French  were  to 
remain  in  Mascara.  But  the  Arabs  took  the  retreat  for  an  evi- 
dence of  weakness,  and  Abdel-Kader,  not  disheartened  by  the 


278  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

defeat,  soon  regained  all  his  former  power  so  much  the  more 
easil}",  as  he  turned  the  expedition  of  Marshal  Clauzel  against 
Tlemsau  to  his  own  advantage. 

That  expedition  was  undertaken  at  the  urgent  entreaties  of  the 
Turks  and  Kuruglis,  who  were  besieged  by  the  Arabs  in  the  citadel 
(Meshuar)  of  Tlemsan.  Already  for  a  whole  year  these  gallant 
fellows  had  been  shut  up  in  the  small  fort,  and  the  old  Mustapha- 
ben-Isinael,  the  restless  enemy  of  the  Emir,  succeeded  in  keeping 
up  the  courage  of  the  garrison.  The  Angads  tried  to  relieve  the 
citadel,  but  Abd-el-Kader  hastened  to  reinforce  the  besiegers,  and 
compelled  the  Angads  to  retreat  to  their  wild  steppes.  On  the 
8th  of  January  1836,  Marshal  Clauzel  marched  with  a  small 
army  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  men  to  Tlemsan.  He 
arrived  there  without  any  fight;  the  besiegers  dispersed  before 
him,  and  the  besieged  garrison,  with  the  venerable  Mustapha-ben- 
Ismael  at  their  head,  hailed  them  with  enthusiasm.  The  majestic 
frame  of  Mustapha,  and  his  energetic  character,  delineated  in  his 
features,  made  a  most  favourable  impression,  and  the  Marshal  ap- 
pointed him  Kaid  of  the  Duairs  and  Zmelas.  The  old  chief  served 
the  French  ever  afterwards  with  zeal  and  fidelity,  and  his  services 
were  acknowledged  by  his  promotion  to  the  rank  and  pay  of  a  general. 

The  Moorish  population  of  Tlemsan  had  been  forced  by  Abd- 
el-Kader  to  emigrate ;  but  the  French,  while  reconnoitering  round 
the  city,  fell  in  with  the  majority  of  them;  the  Arabs  of  the  Emir, 
■who  had  to  escort  them,  were  dispersed  by  the  renegade  Yussuf ; 
after  which  the  Moors  were  brought  back.  Abd-el-Kader  held 
now  scarcely  more  than  one  thousand  horsemen  in  his  service. 
The  Arabs  had  lost  their  confidence  in  him.  But  Marshal  Clauzel 
undertook  an  expedition  from  Tlemsan  towards  the  Tafna,  and  the 
powerful  and  numerous  Kabyles  on  the  banks  of  this  river,  a  most 
warlike  and  fanatical  race,  suddenly  took  the  side  of  the  Emir. 
Their  tribes  lived  in  continual  feuds:  their  Sheikhs  (amongst 
whom  Buhamedi  was  the  most  influential)  were  jealous  of  one 
another.  Threatened  by  the  enemy,  they  desired  to  unite;  but 
rather  than  give  pre-eminence  to  any  of  themselves,  they  called 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         279 

upon  Abd-el-Kader,  the  stranger,  to  be  their  chief  against  the 
French.  The  scheme  of  the  Marshal  to  advance  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  was  defeated  by  the  gallant  resistance  of  the  Kabyles; 
the  loss  was  considerable  on  both  sides;  old  Mustapha  had  fought 
like  a  lion  with  his  Turks  and  Kuruglis;  but  the  horsemen  of 
Abd-el-Kader  were  likewise  brave,  and  their  young  chief  was 
seen  on  his  black  steed  wherever  the  danger  was  greatest.  The 
French  army  was  forced  to  return  to  Tlemsan,  and  Abd-el-Kader 
had  regained  his  prestige. 

At  the  outset,  the  Marshal  had  only  intended  to  relieve  the 
garrison  of  Tlemsan  ;  but  when  he  perceived  the  superiority  of  the 
site  of  this  place,  in  one  of  the  most  fertile  plains  of  Barbary, 
where  the  soil  shows  such  exuberant  vegetation  as  remains  un- 
surpassed in  any  other  district  of  the  Regency,  he  resolved  upon 
leaving  a  French  garrison  in  the  Meshuar.  One  battalion,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Cavaignac,  took  possession  of  the  citadel. 
The  array  left  Tlemsan  on  the  7th  of  February,  returning  by  a 
different  way  to  Oran,  and  skirmishing  continually  with  the 
horsemen  of  Abd-el-Kader,  who  followed  at  their  heels. 

This  second  expedition  of  the  Marshal  remained  likewise 
without  the  results  hoped  for.  The  garrison  of  Tlemsan,  not  being 
strong  enough  to  undertake  expeditions  round  the  city,  was  soon 
blockaded,  and  became  short  of  victuals;  and  Abd-el-Kader  re- 
turned to  Mascara  more  powerful  than  ever.  He  had  got  new 
allies, — the  Kabyles  on  the  Tafna,  who  had  acknowledged  him  as 
their  leader;  and  the  Angad,  who,  hurt  by  the  haughty  reception 
which  their  envoys  had  met  from  the  Marshal,  likewise  submitted 
to  the  Emir.  Many  Kabyles  took  service  in  the  infantry  of 
Abd-el-Kader,  and  accompanied  him  back  to  Mascara.  When  he 
arrived  at  his  capital,  reinforced  by  such  powerful  allies,  all  the 
tribes  who  had  forsaken  him  after  the  capture  of  the  city,  returned 
suing  for  pardon  and  amnesty.  Abd-el-Kader  granted  them 
forgiveness,  and  had  not  a  single  man  executed,  though  the 
Hashems  themselves  had  formerly  requested  the  Emir  to  have  the 
most  guilty  of  their  tribe  beheaded. 


280  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

Marshal  Clauzel  left  the  province  of  Oran  for  Paris  in  order  to 
be  present  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  during  the  discussion  of 
the  affairs  of  Algeria. '  The  Generals  Perregeaux  and  d'Arlanges 
made  several  expeditions  in  his  absence  in  accordance  with  his 
orders,  but  they  remained  just  as  void  of  results  as  the  expeditions 
to  Mascara  and  Tlemsan.  On  the  whole,  no  administration  had 
wasted  so  much  powder  as  that  of  the  Marshal.  It  seemed  as  if 
this  general  took  Africa  for  a  camp  of  exercise  for  the  French 
army.  Perhaps  he  attempted  so  many  expeditions  in  order  to 
retain  his  post,  as  being  well  aware  that  with  his  nation  he  must 
become  popular  by  bulletins  of  conquests  and  victories,  even  al- 
though the  condition  of  the  Kegency  should  become  worse  by  the 
system,  and  colonization  not  proceed  at  all.  General  Perregeaux 
extended  his  operations  to  the  banks  of  the  Shelif  and  Habrah, 
whilst  General  d'Arlanges  went  by  sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tafna, 
where  he  established  a  camp.  On  one  of  his  reconnoiterings  in 
the  direction  of  Tlemsan,  his  column  met  with  severe  loss ;  it  was 
only  with  extreme  difficulty  that  he  could  reach  the  camp.  Sur- 
rounded by  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  Kabyles,  led  by  Buhamedi, 
the  French,  who  were  not  more  than  eighteen  hundred  men,  were 
nearly  crushed.  The  Kabyles  of  the  Tafna  fought  as  desperately 
as  the  tribes  near  Bujia ;  they  often  advanced  up  to  the  mouth  of 
the  cannon,  and  the  yatagan  constantly  crossed  the  sabre.  The 
French  left  above  three  hundred  dead  on  the  battle-field,  their 
camp  was  surrounded,  and  General  d'Arlanges  had  to  send  a  boat 
speedily  to  Oran  to  announce  his  critical  position. 

When  the  tidings  of  this  defeat  reached  France,  it  was  de- 
termined to  send  General  Bugeaud  with  reinforcements  to  Oran. 
lie  landed  on  the  6th  of  June  1836,  with  three  regiments,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tafna,  released  the  besieged  garrison  of  the  camp, 
and  proceeded  to  Tlemsan.  The  battalion  which  had  been  left  in 
the  citadel  of  that  place  under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Cavaig- 
nac,  had  maintained  itself  against  all  the*  attacks  of  the  Arabs, 
and  was  bravely  supported  by  the  Kuruglis.  The  column  of 
General  Bugeaud,  accompanied  by  three  hundred  and  fifty  camels, 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         281 

carried  provisions  for  the  garrison  of  the  citadel.  On  the  6th 
of  July,  Abd-el-Kader,  -who  had  lately  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Nedruma,  a  small  town  close  to  the  Moroccan  frontier, 
and  had  gathered  a  few  thousand  Amazighs  (Kabyles  of  Morroco) 
under  his  banner,  attacked  the  long  marching  line  of  the  French 
in  a  narrow  valley  bisected  by  the  river  Sikak.  The  Arab  horse- 
men pounced  upon  the  vanguard,  whilst  Abd-el-Kader  attacked  the 
flank  with  his  Kabyle  infantry.  But  General  Bugeaud  succeeded 
by  a  skilful  manoeuvre  in  cutting  off  one  part  of  the  infantry.  The 
horsemen  who  had  to  support  it  were  repulsed  by  the  French 
cavalry,  and  the  Kabyles  were  soon  defeated  and  dispersed  in  all 
directions,  seeking  refuge  behind  the  rocks  and  in  the  bushes. 
Two  hundred  corpses  and  six  hundred  muskets  lay  on  the  battle- 
field, and  one  hundred  and  thirty  prisoners  and  six  flags  were  the 
trophies  of  the  victory.  Abd-el-Kader,  who  was  always  in  the 
foremost  ranks  fighting  like  a  common  soldier,  had  a  hair- breadth 
escape ;  his  horse  was  killed  under  him ;  he  fell  on  the  grounc" 
and  escaped  death,  only  because  he  was  clad  as  all  other  Arabs, 
and  therefore  was  not  recognised  by  the  French.  On  the  12th, 
Bugeaud  left  Tlemsan,  after  having  left  provisions  with  the 
garrison,  and  returned  to  Oran  unmolested  by  the  Emir.  And 
yet  this  victory  again  remained  without  results;  not  one  tribe  was 
won  over,  and  the  confidence  of  the  Arabs  and  Kabyles  in  Abd- 
el-Kader  continued  unshaken. 

In  the  meantime,  the  provinces  of  Constantine  and  Algiers  were 
little  disturbed.  It  was  only  the  robber-tribe  of  the  Hajutes 
which  continued  its  forays  in  the  country  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Chiffa,  and  could  not  be  subdued.  General  Rapatel  crossed 
the  defile  of  Teniah-el-Musaiah,  and  introduced  a  Bey,  appointed 
by  Marshal  Clauzel  to  Medeah.  But  the  new  Bey  could  not 
maintain  himself;  three  days  after  the  retreat  of  the  French 
columns,  he  was  captured,  bound  by  the  partisans  of  Abd-el- 
Kader,  and  sent  to  the  Emir. 

Ahmet-Bey  remained  quiet  in  Constantine,  his  capital.  With 
the  exception  of  the  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  Bona,  all  the  pro- 


282  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

vince  obeyed  him  ;  he  continued  the  old  system ;  his  cruelty  para- 
lyzed the  Arabs  by  terror,  but  he  did  not  gain  their  affection.  On 
the  whole,  he  was  on  good  terms  with  Abd-el-Kader,  as  both  were 
fighting  against  the  enemy  of  the  faith ;  but  they  did  not  give  one 
another  mutual  aid:  they  were  secretly  jealous  of  each  other,  so  much 
the  more  as  Ahmet  was  a  Kurugli  continuing  the  traditional 
Turkish  policy,  whilst  the  Arab  Emir  destroyed  every  trace  of  the 
late  domination  of  the  janissaries.  Both  attacked  the  French  with 
all  their  power,  and  with  the  fanaticism  of  the  people;  but  both 
with  the  intention  of  struggling  against  one  another  for  the  sove- 
reignty of  Algiers,  as  soon  as  the  French  were  expelled.  Ahmet- 
Bey's  greatest  support  lay  likewise  among  the  Kabyles,  among 
the  tribes  south  of  Bujia,  between  the  Rivers  Wad  Ajcbbi  and 
Summan.  These  mountaineers  were  free  from  taxes,  and  lent 
their  aid  to  the  Bey,  exclusively  against  the  Christians.  The 
Mezzaia,  near  Bujia,  were  noted  for  their  violent  fanaticism. 
They  often  attacked  the  city  with  the  greatest  determination, 
though  the  cannon  and  howitzers  of  the  French  made  terrible 
havoc  amongst  them.  The  fortified  block-houses,  Salem  and  Klifia, 
near  Bujia,  were  once  attacked  at  night  by  twelve  thousand  Ka- 
byles, and  nearly  overpowered,  since  the  garrison  of  the  city  were 
too  weak  to  support  them  by  a  sally.  Yet  the  Kabyles  were  re- 
pulsed, an(^  retreated  with  no  small  loss.  When  the  mountaineers 
saw  that  their  attacks  remained  without  result,  they  planned  an 
act  of  treachery  against  the  French  commander,  Salomon-de- 
Musis.  Sheikh  Amisian,  the  chief  of  the  Ulad-abd-el- Jebar,  sent 
envoys  to  that  officer,  apparently  in  order  to  negotiate  about  the 
submission  of  his  tribe.  The  Commander  eagerly  seized  this 
opportunity  to  enter  at  last  on  peaceable  intercourse  with  the 
wild  inhabitants  of  the  Atlas,  and  spurned  the  warnings  of  the 
.few  of  his  friends  who  were  aware  of  Kabyle  treachery.  On  the 
4th  of  August,  Amisian,  accompanied  by  some  twenty  horsemen, 
came  from  the  mountains  to  the  interview,  for  which  he  had 
appointed  a  place  on  the  sea-shore,  about  two  hundred  yards  be- 
yond the  most  advanced  trenches.    The  French  dragoman,  Taboni, 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.  283 

approached  the  chief,  whilst  Captain  Blangini,  with  the  Compagnie 
Franche^  remained  on  guard  a  few  yards  behind  them.  Amisiau 
greeted  Salomon- de-Musis  with  polite  words  and  friendly  hand- 
shaking; but  suddenly  the  Kabyle  horsemen  surrounded  the 
French  commander,  and  shot  him  and  the  dragoman  dead:  the 
Compagnie  Franche  hastened  forward,  but  could  neither  prevent 
nor  revenge  the  murder  of  the  unhappy  officer ;  the  murderers 
had  galloped  off  out  of  musket  reach,  laughing  and  insulting  the 
French.  Amisian,  the  treacherous  Sheikh,  remained  ever  after- 
wards highly  respected  by  the  Kabyles;  the  French  could  not 
chastise  him. 

After  a  long  stay  at  Paris,  Marshal  Clauzel  returned  to  Algiers 
towards  the  end  of  August.  He  had  laid  a  complete  plan  of  con- 
quest before  his  Government,  according  to  which  all  the  cities  and 
all  strategical  points  of  the  interior  were  to  be  occupied  by  French 
troops,  whilst  flying  columns  were  to  maintain  the  communications 
between  them.  Such  a  system  would  have  prevented  the  Emir 
of  Mascara  and  the  Bey  of  Constantine  from  building  magazines 
and  powder-mills,  and  both  chieftains  would  have  lost  the  possi- 
bility of  concentrating  large  masses  of  troops,  as  for  that  purpose 
they  always  had  needed  some  populous  centre.  It  was  much  the 
same  plan  as  had  formerly  been  advised  by  Cavaignac  and  Pellis- 
sier,  and  which  afterwards  was  carried  out  by  Bugeaud.  But  for 
such  a  system  of  conquest,  an  army  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
thousand  men  was  necessary,  implying  a  budget  of  sixty  million 
francs,  and  neither  the  Cabinet  nor  the  Chambers  were  disposed  to 
such  a  sacrifice.  Marshal  Clauzel,  however,  was  imprudent  enough 
to  try  this  system,  though  the  means  for  carrying  it  were  not 
granted  to  him,  and  therefore  a  complete  failure  could  not  but  be 
foreseen.  The  new  military  operations  were  begun  in  the  eastern 
province,  which  until  now  had  been  neglected,  though  its  con- 
quest was  easier,  and  promised  to  be  more  advantageous  than  that 
of  the  western  country. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  the  army  left  Bona,  with  the  view  of 
capturing  Constantine.     Marshal  Clauzel  took  the  command  ia 


284  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COUNT  DROUET  d'eRLON, 

person.  Captain  Yussuf,  who  was  appointed  Bey  of  Constantlne 
in  the  place  of  Ahmet,  led  the  Spahis  and  Arab  auxiliaries;  but 
instead  of  the  thousands  of  horsemen  promised  by  Farhad,  only 
a  few  hundred  Saharians  appeared.  The  rashness  of  Yussuf  had 
alienated  the  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  Bona:  they  went  over  to 
Ahmet.  General  Rigny  commanded  the  vanguard,  and  took,  on 
the  10th,  possession  of  the  ruins  of  Calama  (Ghelma),  whilst  the 
main  army  slowly  followed.  The  Due  de  Nemours  accompanied 
the  Marshal  as  volunteer,  and  participated  in  all  the  trials  and 
dangers  of  the  army,  which  was  only  seven  thousand  strong. 

On  their  progress  to  Constantine,  they  did  not  meet  any  other 
obstacles  than  those  of  the  weather  and  soil.  The  rain  poured 
down  in  torrents,  and  none  of  the  roads  had  a  firm  bottom ;  the 
few  camp-fires,  in  a  country  destitute  of  timber,  were  extinguished 
by  the  wet ;  the  waggons  which  carried  the  provisions  stuck  in 
the  mud,  and  had  to  be  abandoned. 

The  army  arrived  before  Constantine  in  a  most  pitiful  condition. 
Frequent  suicides  gave  evidence  of  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers. 
Some  of  them,  exhausted  by  the  march,  lay  down,  refusing  to 
follow  the  column,  and  chose  apathetically  to  await  death  from 
the  yatagan  of  Bedouin  marauders  rather  than  proceed  onwards. 
Yet  the  opinion  prevailed  that  Constantine  would  not  offer  any 
more  resistance  than  Mascara  or  Tlemsan.  When  at  last  the 
city  was  in  sight  from  the  plateau  of  El-Mansurah,  every  one  of 
the  weary  soldiers  selected  with  his  eyes  the  house  which  he  was  to 
occupy,  and  was  glad  to  have  the  prospect  of  a  dry  bed  after 
eight  wet  and  severely  cold  nights  in  the  mountains.  But  sud- 
denly the  red  flag  was  reared  on  the  "  gate  of  the  bridge,"  and 
the  batteries  of  the  citadel  opened  their  fire  against  the  plateau. 
The  Marshal  tried  now  to  capture  the  city  by  a  sudden  storm. 
The  first  attack  took  place  under  the  eyes  of  the  commander  on 
the  Roman  bridge,  whilst  two  brigades  crossed  the  river  Rummel 
and  attacked  Constantine  from  the  east,  where  the  city  is  connected 
with  the  mountain  Kudiat-Ali  by  a  natural  dyke,  its  most  vul- 
nerable point.    But  both  attacks  failed  in  spite  of  the  heroic  exer- 


AND  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  CLAUZEL.         285 

tions  of  the  French,  because  they  were  without  heavy  artillerj'. 
They  had  brought  with  them  nothing  but  six-pounders,  which  did 
not  avail  against  massive  walls  and  iron  gates.  The  Marshal 
was  soon  satisfied  that  success  was  impossible,  and  resolved  to 
retreat ;  and  though  eagerly  pursued  and  pressed  by  the  enemy, 
he  did  it  in  a  masterly  way,  and  with  far  less  loss  than  could 
have  been  expected.  Yet  the  retreating  army  offered  the  most 
doleful  sight.  The  soldiers,  exhausted  by  fights,  marches,  and  the 
unceasing  rain,  lived  for  several  days  on  unground  corn  boiled  in 
water;  and  those  were  deemed  happy  who  succeeded  in  carrying 
off  the  food  of  jackals  and  carrion- birds,  the  carcasses  of  dead 
horses.  In  this  pitiful  condition,  the  small  army  reached  Ghelma 
again,  where  the  invalids  were  left  under  the  protection  of  a 
few  companies  and  the  command  of  Colonel  Duvivier.  The 
main  army  continued  the  march  to  Bona;  half  of  the  sol- 
diers "had  to  enter  the  hospitals,  and  fevers  and  dysentery  made 
more  serious  ravages  amongst  them  than  the  bullets  of  the 
Bedouins.  Marshal  Clauzel  was  soon  after  summoned  to  Paris 
to  defend  his  conduct  in  the  Chambers.  On  the  1 2th  of  February 
1837,  the  Moniteur  announced  his  dismissal.  In  Algiers,  nobody 
bewailed  his  departure  except  a  few  of  his  personal  friends.  Of 
all  his  splendid  promises  which  he  had  trumpeted  in  high-flown 
proclamations,  not  one  was  fulfilled.  "In  three  months,"  he  had 
often  said,  "  the  Hajutes  shall  have  ceased  to  exist ;"  but  at  his 
departure  this  tribe  was  more  powerful  than  ever,  reinforced,  as  it 
was,  by  bands  of  robbers  infesting  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  Algiers.  Abd-el-Kader,  whom  the  Marshal  had  several  times 
officially  declared  to  have  fled  to  the  Desert  to  hide  his  shame,  was 
now  blockading  the  French  garrisons  in  Tlemsan  and  in  the 
camp  on  the  Tafna,  and  his  horsemen  scoured  the  country  up  to 
the  gates  of  Oran.  Colonization  had  made  no  progress  under 
Clauzel.  Always  occupied  by  warlike  schemes,  he  had  neither 
time  nor  will  to  do  more  for  agriculture  than  to  prophesy  a  most 
happy  future  for  it.  He  had  acquired  extensive  landed  property 
around  Algiers,  but  he  had  not  cultivated  it  himself,  as  the  French 


286  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

expected  him  to  do:  he  let  it  to  farmers  in  the  English  way,  which 
is  unpopular  among  the  French.  The  Algiers  people  charged  him 
with  rapacity  and  avarice,  and  tales  were  current  about  extortions 
and  general  corruption.  Many  of  these  charges  may  probably  be 
exaggerated,  or  even  altogether  fictitious ;  yet  it  is  certain  that  the 
population  fully  credited  them.  Not  one  voice  was  raised  from 
Algiers  for  the  defence  of  the  Marshal ;  and  never  had  the  position 
of  the  colony  been  more  desperate  than  after  his  ill-fated  expedi- 
tion against  Constantine. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT,  AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO 
CONSTANTINE. 

The  successor  of  Marshal  Clauzel  was  Lieutenant- General  Count 
Denys  de  Damr^raont,  already  honourably  known  in  Algiers.  He 
had  in  1830  commanded  a  brigade  under  Bourmont,  and  taken 
active  part  in  all  the  fights  against  Turks  and  Arabs  up  to  the 
surrender  of  Algiers.  The  command  of  the  first  expedition  against 
Bona  was  confided  to  him ;  he  had  occupied  the  city  without  any 
loss,  and  had  gained  the  love  and  attachment  of  the  inhabitants 
during  his  short  stay,  by  the  mildness  of  his  temper,  his  justice, 
and  the  severe  discipline  he  maintained  in  his  army.  When,  a 
few  days  after  the  occupation,  the  city  was  attacked  by  the  Arabs, 
Damremont  made  a  gallant  resistance,  and  inflicted  no  small  loss 
on  the  enemy.  On  receipt  of  the  tidings  of  the  July  Revolu- 
tion, Bourmont  recalled  the  brigade  of  Damremont  from  Bona. 
The  General  was  sent  to'  France,  and  from  that  time  had  no  com- 
mand in  Africa. 

Damremont  arrived  at  Algiers  on  the  3d  of  April  1837,  and 
one  of  his  first  measures  was  the  re-establishment  of  the  Bureau 
Arabe^  with  more  extensive  power  than  before.     It  had  to  carry 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  287 

on  direct  correspondence  with  all  the  Arab  chieftains  who  wished 
to  come  into  communication  with  the  French.  The  chairman 
of  this  Board  was  Captain  Pellissier — an  officer  of  distinction, 
and  of  the  highest  character,  though  little  popular  with  the 
European  colonists  for  his  obstinate  advocacy  of  native  rights, 
and  a  predilection  ^for  the  Arabs  which  really  amounted  to 
weakness.  His  hobby  was  the  amalgamation  of  the  French 
and  Arabs ;  he  imagined  that  the  difficulties  might  be  overcome 
which  stand  in  the  way  of  such  an  amalgamation,  because 
he  viewed  only  the  bright  features  of  the  Arab  character ;  and 
when  a  long  intercourse  with  this  people  might  have  given 
him  a  different  view,  his  obstinacy  forbade  him  avow  the  delu- 
sion under  which  he  had  been  labouring.  But  to  the  new  Gover- 
nor-General Captain  Pellissier  was  principally  recommended  by 
a  series  of  attacks,  published  by  him  against  the  administration 
of  Marshal  Clauzel  in  the  '■'■  National"  of  Paris.  General 
Damremont  wished  to  amend  the  blunders  of  his  predecessor, 
and  was  pleased  with  the  views  of  the  captain. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the  Governor-General,  Abd- 
el-Kader  made  an  expedition  from  Mascara,  in  order  to  visit  the 
tribes  not  yet  subjected  to  him.  He  approached  the  city  of 
Shershel,  and  the  Kabyle  tribe  of  the  Beni-Menasser,  claiming  a 
tribute  as  recognition  of  his  sovereignty.  The  population  of 
Shershel  submitted ;  but  the  Beni-Menasser  refused  tribute  and 
submission,  though  they  pledged  their  friendship  and  aid  against 
the  French  to  the  Emir.  As  that  tribe  inhabits  a  mountainous 
country,  and  is  very  warlike,  Abd-el-Kader  remained  satisfied 
with  their  declaration,  proceeded  farther  into  the  province  of 
Titterl,  and  entered  Medeah  triumphantly  on  the  22d  of  April. 
His  emissaries  came  down  from  the  Atlas,  preached  war  against 
the  Christians,  and  incited  the  tribes  of  the  Metija  to  revolt 
against  the  French.  Even  the  city  of  Belida — though  only  at  three 
hours'  distance  from  the  French  outposts,  and  the  Beni-Khalil, 
whose  encampments  were  placed  under  the  cannon  of  the  camp 
of  Buff'arik — secretly  sent  envoys  to  the  Emir,  and  paid  the  tribute 


288  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

claimed.  Such  was  the  influence  of  Abd-el-Kader,  even  over  the 
tribes  allied  with  France. 

In  consequence  of  such  proceedings,  General  Damremont  con- 
centrated six  thousand  men  at  Buffarik  in  order  to  occupy  Belida, 
and  to  frighten  the  tribes  of  the  Metija  into  complete  submission. 
On  the  28th  of  April,  he  made  a  reconnoitre  in  the  mountains, 
and  tried  to  pacify  the  Ilajutes  and  Beni-Salah  by  negotiations; 
but  he  found  them  ready  for  resistance.  The  Governor  had  sent 
Captain  Pellissier  with  a  dragoman  to  them.  But  the  French 
envoys  were  received  with  bullets  and  narrowly  escaped  with 
life.  Next  day  Damremont  marched  against  Belida ;  and  two 
brigades  having  surrounded  the  city,  defence  became  impossible : 
he  entered  it  with  his  staff,  but  the  inhabitants  had  fled.  On 
the  mountains,  the  Beni-Salah  made  some  resistance  :  they  were, 
however,  hunted  from  peak  to  peak  by  the  Zuaves,  and  their 
encampments  were  burned  down.  The  plan  of  occupying  Belida 
permanently  was  given  up  by  Damremont,  on  the  report  of  the 
engineers'  corps  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  fortify  the  place 
without  destroying  the  beautiful  orange- groves  around  the  city. 

A  few  weeks  later,  another  Kabyle  tribe  made  an  incursion  into 
the  east  of  the  Metija.  The  Amrauahs  attacked  Reghaia,  the 
pretty  farm  of  M.  Mercier,  the  most  important  European  planta- 
tion in  the  vicinity  of  Algiers.  The  cattle  of  the  colonist  was 
driven  off:  some  of  his  servants  were  slain.  The  Governor  im- 
mediately despatched  Colonel  Schauenburg  with  the  mounted 
rifles  and  Spahis,  and  some  infantry,  against  the  Beni-Isser, 
though  they  had  not  themselves  taken  part  in  the  attack,  but  had 
permitted  the  horsemen  of  the  Amrauahs  to  pass  through  their 
territory.  The  guilty  tribe  was  too  far  off  to  be  chastised ;  revenge 
was  therefore  to  be  taken  on  the  more  proximate  people  of  the 
Isser  for  conniving  with  the  trespassers.  Whilst  Colonel  Schauen- 
burg advanced  eastwards,  and  chased  before  him  the  frightened 
Arabs  in  the  direction  of  the  river  Isser,  General  Perregeaux  was 
ordered  to  land  on  the  mouth  of  the  river  with  two  battalions  to 
cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  flying  tribe.     But  a  sudden  storm  pre- 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  289 

vented  the  landing,  and  Colonel  Schauenburg's  column  remained 
alone  in  the  struggle.  lie  had  advanced  too  far.  Ben-Zamun 
and  the  Kabyles  of  the  Jurjura  mountain  had  come  to  the  aid  of 
the  Beni-Isser,  and  the  Amrauah  horsemen  had  likewise  arrived. 
They  defeated  the  Aribes,  the  auxiliaries  of  the  French  ;  and  the 
colonel  had  to  retreat,  after  a  brilliant  fight,  in  which  many  of  the 
Arabs  were  killed.  It  became  now  necessary  to  enforce  respect 
on  the  mountaineers  ;  trenches  were  therefore  raised  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river  Buduau,  and  a  garrison  left  in  the  camp.  The 
Kabyles,  thus  exposed  to  a  sudden  French  irruption,  were  deter- 
mined to  expel  their  enemy  from  that  aggressive  position.  On  the 
25th  of  May,  five  thousand  mountaineers  made  an  attack  on  the 
French  camp,  which  was  defended  only  by  one  thousand  men  and 
two  field-pieces.  The  fight  was  obstinate  and  murderous  ;  the 
Arab  village  of  Buduau  was  first  taken  by  the  Kabyles,  and 
stormed  again  by  the  French.  The  enemy  left  the  scene  of  battle, 
only  in  the  dusk  carrying  away  their  dead  ;  but  above  one 
hundred  corpses  remained  on  the  field,  as  the  Kabyles  were  un- 
able to  carry  them  all  off.  The  French  took  now  to  the  offensive  : 
they  marched  into  the  territory  of  the  Isser  :  the  tribe  made  its 
submission,  and  promised  to  make  good  the  loss  of  M.  Mercier. 
But  the  colonist  never  saw  this  indemnification  :  he  got  some  lean 
bulls  in  place  of  his  hundreds  of  fattened  cows  and  sheep,  and  it 
was  reported  that  even  those  were  not  furnished  by  the  Isser,  but 
had  been  bought  by  the  secret  service-money.  General  Damre- 
mont  lacked  the  energy  of  remaining  consistent  in  the  course  he 
had  taken. 

General  Bugeaud  had,  in  the  meantime,  taken  the  command  of 
nine  thousand  men  in  the  province  of  Oran,  in  order  to  fight 
Abd-el-Kader,  and  to  induce  him  to  pacification  by  the  display  of 
an  imposing  army.  The  principal  aim  of  the  French  was  to 
avenge  the  failure  at  Constantine ;  it  became,  therefore,  impor- 
tant to  get  rid  of  the  Emir  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  have 
all  the  forces  at  their  disposal  against  Ahmet-Bey.  On  the  15th 
of  May,  the  army,  carrying  provisions  for  forty  days,  marched  to 


290  THE  ADMINISTKATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMRE5I0NT, 

Tlemsan,  left  the  necessary  powder  to  the  blockaded  garrison,  and 
proceeded  towards  the  Tafna.  The  hostile  army  was  not  visible ; 
a  few  horsemen  exchanged  shots  with  the  Arab  auxiliaries  of  the 
French, — the  Duairs  and  Zmelas,  who  were  commanded  by  the 
venerable  Mustapha-ben-Ismael,  that  bitter  enemy  of  Abd-el- 
Kader.  He  Tiad  no  more  ardent  desire  than  to  engage  the  Emir, 
who  remained  with  his  troops  at  a  certain  distance,  in  order  not  to 
prevent  negotiations  by  premature  hostilities.  Diplomatic  trans- 
actions had  been  initiated  already  by  Marshal  Clauzel,  but  had  not 
led  to  any  result,  the  pretensions  being,  on  both  sides,  overstrained. 
Bugeaud  resumed  negotiations  once  more,  and  made  use  of  the 
services  of  the  Jew  Ben-Durand,  the  confidential  man  of  the 
Emir,  who  knew  how  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  French 
generals.  But  as  all  the  messages  to  and  fro  did  not  advance  the 
agreement,  Bugeaud,  suspicious  of  the  greedy  Jew,  selected 
another  negotiator  in  the  person  of  the  Moor,  Sidi-Hamadi-ben- 
Seal.  The  difficulties  were, — first,  the  supremacy  over  the  pro- 
vince of  Titteri,  claimed  by  Abd-el-Kader,  whilst  the  French 
Government  had  designated  the  Shelif  as  his  boundary  on  the 
east.  General  Bugeaud,  accustomed  to  act  independently,  con- 
ceded this  first  pretension  to  the  Emir.  The  instructions  of 
the  minister-at-war  to  Bugeaud  insisted  principally  upon  Abd-el- 
Kader's  paying  a  yearly  tribute  to  the  French ;  but  the  Emir 
resisted  this  demand,  and  Bugeaud  took  again  on  himself  to  yield 
to  Abd-el-Kader,  and  to  depart  from  his  instructions.  The 
French  General  was  forced  to  settle  the  affairs  in  the  most  speedy 
way,  as  the  opportunity  for  military  operations  had  passed  during 
the  negotiations :  his  provisions  sufficed  only  for  a  few  days.  The 
badly  made  saddles  wounded  the  backs  of  the  mules  which  carried 
the  baggage,  and  which  consequently  became  useless,  and  the 
army  was  in  a  critical  state  before  it  had  begun  to  act. 

At  last,  on  the  30th  of  May,  a  treaty  was  signed  by  the  belli- 
gerent parties,  and  a  final  interview  arranged  for  the  next  day 
between  the  General  and  the  Emir.  The  principal  parts  of  the 
treaty  were  the  following :  The  Emir  Abd-el-Kader  acknowledges 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  291 

the  sovereignty  of  France  in  A  frica.  France  retains  the  posses- 
sion of  Oran,  Arzew,  Masagran,  Mostagenem,  and  Algiers;  of 
the  Sahel,  and  the  plain  of  Metija  from  the  right  bank  of  the 
Chiffa  to  the  Wad-el-Kadderah,  and  the  territory  beyond  that 
river;  moreover,  the  cities  of  Beli da  and  Coleah.  The  Emir  has 
the  administration  of  the  provinces  of  Oran  and  Titteri,  and  of 
the  parts  of  Algeria  not  included  in  the  above-mentioned  boun- 
daries ;  but  he  is  not  allowed  to  enter  any  other  portion  of  the 
Regency.  The  Emir  furnishes  to  the  French  army  thirty 
thousand  bags  of  wheat,  as  many  bags  of  barley,  and  one 
thousand  bulls ;  but  the  city  and  citadel  of  Tlemsan,  together 
with  its  cannon,  will  be  delivered  to  him ;  and  he  is  allowed  to 
buy  arms,  powder,  and  brimstone,  in  France.  A  secret  article 
stipulated  thirty  thousand  boojoos  to  General  Bugeaud.  This 
treaty,  so  favourable  to  the  Emir,  was  sent  to  France  for  ratifica- 
tion, of  course  without  the  secret  article;  and,  to  the  astonishment 
of  everybody,  it  was  ratified,  whilst  General  Damremont  was 
not  even  asked  about  his  views.  Public  opinion  has  long  ago 
branded  this  treaty,  and  General  Bugeaud  has  avowed  his  regret 
for  having  concluded  it. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  the  interview  took  place  between  Bugeaud 
and  Abd-el-Kader.  It  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  of 
the  African  war,  as  it  was  here  that  the  veteran  of  the  wars  of 
the  empire,  the  courtier  of  Louis  Philippe,  the  statesman  trained 
in  the  debates  of  the  Chamber,  was  overreached  in  diplomacy  by 
the  young  Arab  prince  whom  the  General  had  defeated  on  the 
Sikak.  Captain  Amedee  Muralt,  of  Bern,  who  had  accompanied 
Bugeaud,  and  was  present  at  that  famous  interview,  gave  me  the 
following  narrative  of  the  event: — 

"  General  Bugeaud  started  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  with 
his  staff  from  the  camp  on  the  Tafna,  and  proceeded  to  the  place 
where  the  interview  was  to  take  place.  He  was  accompanied  by 
six  battalions  of  infantry,  his  cavalry,  and  artillery.  He  wished 
to  receive  the  Emir  with  all  military  honours,  to  have  the  music 
sounded,  and  the  salute  fired  from  all  the  guns.     Therefore,  as 


292  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

soon  as  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  meeting — a  wild  spot,  with 
scanty  Mastich-bushes  and  dwarf-palms — he  placed  the  troops  in 
a  most  imposing  array.  It  was  evidentl}''  his  intention  to  im- 
press the  imagination  of  the  Arab  prince  and  his  followers  with 
the  powerful  forces  of  the  French,  by  the  greatest  amount  of 
military  display.  Several  hours  passed  in  impatient  expectation, 
but  no  trace  of  the  Emir  was  to  be  seen.  At  last  an  Arab  chief- 
tain appeared,  the  minister  of  Abd-el-Kader,  as  it  was  said, 
bringing  a  letter  of  his  '  Sultan'  to  General  Bugeaud.  The 
General  opened  it:  we  crowded  with  curiosity  around  him.  As 
soon  as  Bugeaud  was  apprized  of  the  contents  by  his  dragoman, 
the  Syrian  Ranasha,  his  features  darkened,  and  turning  to  the 
interpreter,  he  said,  '  Tell  the  minister  that  I  am  tired  of  his 
subterfuges :  I  have  only  half  of  my  army  with  me,  yet  I  invite 
his  master  to  come,  and  to  fight  us  in  battle.'  Ramsha  and  the 
chieftain  galloped  speedily  away  to  carry  the  defying  answer  to 
the  Emir.  Abd-el-Kader  had,  in  his  letter,  inquired  about  the 
prices  of  the  arms  and  ammunition  promised  to  him.  He  and 
the  chieftain  openly  laid  the  greatest  stress  on  that  clause  of  the 
treaty.  This  circumstance  alone  should  have  opened  the  eyes  of 
the  French  General  about  the  plans  and  intentions  of  the  Emir. 
An  enemy  who  claims  arms  and  powder  in  a  treaty  of  peace, 
shows  surely  that  he  is  not  in  earnest  in  his  protestations  of 
good  will,  and  that  he  is  preparing  already  for  a  breach  of  the 
treaty.  Bugeaud  was  too  intelligent  not  to  surmise  the  conse- 
quences of  the  agreement,  but  he  knew  he  had  engaged  himself 
too  deeply ;  the  advantageous  season  for  military  operations  had 
passed,  and  his  provisions  were  scanty.  He  feared  to  compro- 
mise himself,  and  dreaded  the  just  attacks  of  a  hostile  press  in 
case  he  should  return  to  Oran  without  having  either  fought  or 
made  peace,  or  attained  any  result  by  an  expedition  so  pompously 
announced.  To  spare  himself  a  personal  vexation  he  sacrificed 
all  higher  considerations. 

"  Time  passed,  the  sun  began  to  set,  and  yet  no  vestige  of  Abd- 
el-Kader  I     Our  dragoman  likewise  failed  to  return.     Bugeaud 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.         293 

could  not  conceal  his  mortification;  the  officers  grumbled,  and  I 
heard  one  say:  '  Abd-el-Kader  will  not  appear  at  all,  and  our 
General  receives  a  good  slap.'  Biting  remarks  were  made,  and 
the  General,  in  order  not  to  hear  them,  and  not  to  see  the  discon- 
tent expressed  in  all  faces,  lay  down  on  the  grass  and  tried  to 
sleep.  Arab  messengers  came  now  with  laconic  words.  One 
said  the  '  Sultan'  had  been  unwell,  and  had  started  late  from  his 
camp ;  the  other  assured  us  that  he  was  coming ;  the  third,  that 
he  was  near,  but  had  been  detained.  Bugeaud  received  them 
rudely,  had  the  fronts  of  his  battalions  and  his  cannon  shown  to 
them,  and  sent  them  back. 

"  Amongst  those  present,  the  most  distinguished,  not  by  rank, 
but  both  by  talent  and  character,  was  Colonel  Combes,  a  man  of 
the  highest  principles,  enthusiastic  for  the  glory  of  his  country, 
but  mild,  simple,  yet  imposing  in  his  demeanour.  The  Colonel 
was  republican,  and  therefore  in  political  opposition  to  the 
General;  but  Bugeaud  had  great  confidence  in  him:  they  had 
been  personal  friends,  though  they  seldom  agreed  in  their  views. 
I  saw  both  in  eager  conversation:  Combes  called  upon  Bugeaud 
not  to  waste  precious  time  in  futile  negotiations ;  should  the  pro- 
visions not  suffice  for  the  campaign  of  forty  days  which  had  been 
planned,  still  an  expedition  of  eight  days  might  not  be  too  much, 
and  would  keep  the  enemy  in  check.  The  Colonel  spoke  with 
warmth,  and  deplored  the  millions  wasted  here  by  France:  every 
sensible  man  could  not  but  approve  his  views.  Bugeaud  gave 
vent  to  his  anger  and  mortification  by  violent  exclamations : 
'  What  is  to  become  of  us !  In  a  few  days  we  have  been  reduced 
to  an  inability  of  making  war !  My  orders  have  not  been 
executed.  I  would  be  the  first  to  fight ;  I  am  as  brave  as  you ; 
but  we  cannot  do  it!  If  the  Emir  retires  and  does  not  come  at 
all,  what  shall  we  do  then?  Oh,  this  warfare  is  difficult!' 
These  w^ere  the  words  of  Bugeaud:  his  vacillation  was  evident. 
Had  Combes  been  the  commander,  the  events  would  have  taken 
a  different  turn. 

"  x4t  last  our  dragoman  arrived  at  full  speed.     Abd-el-Kader 


294  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

started  with  his  army  just  when  he  left  him ;  he  was  to  appear  in 
a  few  minutes.  Bugeaud  was  now  again  in  high  spirits.  Ramsha, 
tired  to  death,  sat  down  on  a  stone  and  wrote  a  few  lines,  an 
additional  article  to  the  treaty,  dictated  to  him  by  the  General.* 
But  time  passed  on  again,  and  the  Emir  was  not  yet  to  be  seen. 
In  the  distance,  we  saw  Arab  cavalry  occupying  the  heights.  It 
was  five  in  the  evening.  The  General,  who  wished  to  lead  his 
troops  back  to  the  camp  before  night,  determined  at  last  him- 
self to  seek  the  Emir.  Accompanied  by  some  officers,  five 
mounted  rifles,  and  a  few  Spahis,  he  rode  off  at  a  gallop.  I  fol- 
lowed them  with  my  friend  Captain  Stiirler:  we  were  altogether 
about  twenty.  The  reason  of  Abd-el-Kader's  tarrying  was,  of 
course,  not  distrust,  but  calculations  of  pride.  Before  the  front 
of  the  hostile  army  he  could  not  maintain  his  dignity  of  Sultan, 
and  had  to  stand  on  terms  of  equality  with  the  French  General. 
But  he  knew  the  character  of  the  French,  and  reckoned  upon  the 
impatience  of  his  adversary  to  give  him  a  triumph  over  the 
General,  and  heighten  the  respect  of  the  Arabs  for  their 
'  Sultan.'f 

"  After  a  ride  of  nearly  an  hour  on  a  rough  path,  we  thought  we 
saw  Abd-el-Kader  and  his  horsemen  on  the  slope  of  a  hill.  It 
was  a  delusion:  a  few  Arabs  were  there  waving  their  white 
handkerchiefs.  At  last  Buhamedi  appeared,  the  chief  of  the 
Kabyles  on  the  Tafna,  and  assured  the  General  that  the  Emir 
was  approaching.  Some  Arab  horsemen  wheeled  their  horses  on 
our  flanks  and  in  our  rear;  the  retinue  began  to  feel  uneasy,  and 
voices  were  heard — '  General,  we  expose  ourselves  too  much :  let 
us  halt.'  Bugeaud  immediately  answered, — 'Gentlemen,  it  is 
too  late.'  He  was  right;  prudence  would  have  been  too  late: 
we  were  already  surrounded  by  several  groups  of  horsemen,  but 
their  demonstrations  had  nothing  hostile.     Buhamedi  had  re- 

*  Probably  that  of  the  30,000  boojoos  (about  £2400).  When  the  secret 
article  became  known,  Bugeaud  made  a  present  of  the  sum  to  his  electoral  dis- 
trict in  France  for  making  vicinal  roads. 

t  "  Abd-el-Kader  said  to  the  chiefs  around  him :  '  I  wait  for  the  homage  of  the 
Sultan  of  France.' " 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  295 

marked  the  uneasiness  of  some  officers,  and  said,  '  Be  tranquil, 
do  not  fear.'  '  I  do  not  know  fear,'  retorted  the  General,  '  I 
am  accustomed  to  fight;  but  I  find  it  very  rude  of  thy  chief  to 
let  me  wait,  and  not  to  hasten  to  meet  me.'  '  There  he  is,"  said 
the  Kabyle;  'you  shall  see  him  immediately.'  The  way  bent 
here  round  a  hill,  and  we  saw  the  Emir  suddenly  before  us.  Abd- 
el-Kader  was  seated  on  a  black  steed ;  at  his  side,  his  Negro  brass 
band;  around  him,  the  principal  chiefs  in  rich  costume  on  the 
noblest  horses  ;  and  behind  him,  his  army,  horsemen  and  infantr^^, 
encamped  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  in  a  most  picturesque  way. 
"  When  Bugeaud  perceived  the  Emir,  he  took  a  few  paces  in 
advance  to  meet  him,  and  invited  him,  with  courteous  gesture,  to 
do  the  same.  Abd-el-Kader  did  not  pay  any  attention  to  him, 
but  gave  the  spurs  to  his  steed  and  displayed  his  horsemanship. 
The  fiery  horse  made  leaps  four  and  five  feet  high,  and  again 
pranced  for  several  minutes,  leaning  back  on  its  hind-quarters, 
while  its  long  mane  touched  the  soil,  and  its  snorting  was  audible. 
The  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  chieftains  behind  him,  all 
of  them  of  imposing  features,  some  with  jet-black,  others  with  silver- 
gray  beards,  began  likewise  to  move,  and  made  their  horses 
prance.  Seeing  that  the  Emir  did  not  approach  at  all,  the 
General  galloped  towards  him,  and,  cavalier-like,  offered  him  his 
hand.  The  Arab  prince  received  him  proudly,  in  an  almost 
offensive  way;  we  looked  at  one  another,  and  became  rather 
uneasy,  suspecting  treachery.  Bugeaud  vaulted  from  his  horse, 
Abd-el-Kader  followed  him,  and  stretched  himself  immediately  on 
the  grass  without  inviting  the  General  to  do  the  same.  x4.s  to 
the  retinue,  the  Emir  did  not  vouchsafe  us  a  glance;  he  seemed 
to  despise  us  altogether  like  dogs.  Bugeaud  now  seated  himself 
unceremoniously  at  the  side  of  the  Emir;  close  to  him  Eamsha, 
the  dragoman.  Near  Abd-el-Kader  sat  Milud-ben-Arash,  his 
x\gha  and  confidant;  the  chieftains,  Marabuts,  and  Sheikhs,  re- 
mained on  their  horses,  and  formed  a  large  crescent  behind  the 
group;  two  of  them  rode  close  before  us  and  took  position 
between  us  and  their  master,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  pro- 


29G  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

tecting  their  Sultan  in  case  any  of  us  might  risk  his  life  in  order 
to  murder  the  dangerous  enemy. 

"  Abd-el-Kader  is  of  small  and  delicate  frame.  His  forehead  is 
well  developed,  his  mouth  rather  large,  his  eye  soft.  The  ex- 
pression of  his  features  shows  devotion  and  piety,  but  not  without 
affectation.  That  day  he  was  clad  in  the  most  common  garb,  a 
brown  burnus,  woven  of  camel's  hair.  We  did  not  know  whom 
most  to  admire  in  this  interesting  group,  the  Emir  or  his  chief- 
tains, with  their  majestic  deportment  and  rich  flowing  attire, 
the  interest  being  yet  heightened  by  the  Arab  anny  of  eight 
thousand  horsemen;  indeed  as  many  infantry  covered  all  the 
hills  around.  Deep  silence  prevailed,  and  the  conversation 
began.     Ramsha  read  the  treaty. 

"  The  first  article  of  the  treaty  was  the  recognition  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  King  of  the  French  in  Africa.  'How  so?'  ex- 
claimed the  Emir ;  '  shall  all  the  Princes  of  Africa,  Morocco,  and 
Tunis,  likewise  acknowledge  him  ? '  '  What  does  this  concern 
you?'  answered  Bugeaud.  Abd-el-Kader  remained  silent,  and 
the  reading  of  the  articles  was  continued.  Bugeaud  claimed 
hostages  as  a  guarantee  of  the  treaty.  '  In  that  case,'  said  the 
Emir,  '  I  have  likewise  to  claim  hostages.  The  faith  and  the 
customs  of  the  Arab  should  suffice  you.  Every  treaty  is  sacred 
to  me ;  I  never  forfeited  my  pledge ;  the  French  G  enerals  cannot 
boast  of  the  same  good  faith.'  He  repeated  this  once  more  with 
emphasis.  '  I  trust  your  word,'  replied  the  General,  '  and 
pledge  myself  for  your  faith  to  the  King  of  the  French  :  I  offer 
you  my  friendship.' 

"  '  I  accept  your  friendship;  but  let  the  French  beware  not  to 
lend  their  ear  to  intriguers,'  was  the  answer  of  the  Emir. 

"  *  The  French  are  not  accustomed  to  be  led  by  any  one.  Iso- 
lated outrages  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  breach  of  the  treaty;  but 
such  will  be  the  case  if  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  are  not  strictly 
held,  or  if  hostilities  of  importance  should  be  committed.  As  to 
isolated  crimes,  we  shall  denounce  them  to  one  another,  and 
mutually  punish  the  guilty. ' 


■     AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  297 

"  '  Well,'  said  the  Emir,  '  the  guilty  shall  not  escape  punish- 
ment.' 

"  '  I  recommend  to  you  the  Kuruglis  of  Tlemsan  for  good  treat- 
ment.' 

"  '  Be  satisfied ;  I  will  treat  them  like  all  the  Hadars,'  (towns- 
folk.) 

"  Abd-el-Kader  inquired  now  about  the  prices  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  General  Bugeaud  grew  impatient,  and  said,  turn- 
ing to  the  interpreter, — '  Mais  que  diahle  !  Tell  him  we  are  not 
children :  he  shall  have  them  at  army-prices.'  Abd-el-Kader 
seemed  to  be  satisfied. 

"  After  a  short  pause,  Bugeaud  asked,  '  Have  you  ordered  the 
commercial  intercourse  with  our  cities  to  be  restored  ?' 

'"  No ;  this  will  only  happen  when  thou  shalt  deliver  up 
Tlemsan.' 

"  '  You  are  aware  that  I  cannot  deliver  up  Tlemsan  before  my 
king  has  ratified  the  treaty.' 

"  '  Then  you  have  no  power  to  treat?' 

"  '  I  am  authorized  to  do  it,  but  the  treaty  must  be  ratified.  It 
is  required  for  your  own  sake,  since,  if  sigried  only  by  me,  my 
successor  might  discard  it ;  but,  when  ratified  by  my  king,  my 
successor  is  likewise  bound  to  keep  it.' 

u  I  jf  Tlemsan  is  not  delivered  to  me,  I  have  no  inducement  for 
any  agreement.     It  will  not  be  peace  ;   only  a  truce.' 

"  '  No  doubt  it  may  be  only  a  truce,  but  always  only  for  your 
advantage.  Do  you  not  dread  my  artillery  ?  "What  if  I  destroy 
and  burn  down  your  crops  now  before  harvest?' 

"  '  My  artillery,'  answered  the  Emir,  '  is  the  sun,  which  will 
destroy  your  army.  Burn  down  our  crops  if  you  please:  we 
shall  find  wheat  elsewhere.  Our  country  is  great,  and  your 
columns  cannot  follow  us :  the  heat  and  diseases  will  overpower 
you.  Wherever  you  appear,  we  retreat,  and  you  will  soon  be 
short  of  provisions.  We  rovers  find  food  anywhere :  we  shall 
not  fall  into  your  hands.' 

"  *  I  do  not  think  all  the  Arabs  think  as  you  do,'  said  the 


298  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

General.  '  They  long  for  peace,  and  many  have  thanked  me  for 
having  spared  their  fields.' 

"  Abd-el-Kader  laughed  contemptuously,  and  asked  what  time 
it  required  till  the  ratification  might  arrive. 

"  '  Three  weeks,'  said  the  General. 

" '  It  is  a  long  time.' 

"  '  You  do  not  lose  by  it ;  it  is  the  time  of  harvest,'  replied  the 
General. 

"  Ben-Arash  approached,  and  said  to  Bugeaud,  'Three  weeks  is 
too  long :  we  can  only  wait  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight.' 

"  '  Can  you  command  the  sea?'  exclaimed  the  General. 

"  '  Well,  we  shall  not  renew  the  commercial  intercourse  until 
the  ratification  of  thy  king  has  arrived,'  was  the  answer. 

"  Ramsha  told  me  likewise  that  Bugeaud  said  to  the  Emir, 
'  Should  you  take  me  prisoner,  or  kill  me,  it  would  be  of  no  avail ; 
there  are,  besides  me,  thousands  of  generals  in  France.' 

"  After  the  conversation  had  lasted  three  quarters  of  an  hour, 
Bugeaud  rose,  whilst  the  Emir,  without  heeding  him,  remained 
stretched  on  the  grass.  The  Genera^  was  startled,  and  gazed  at 
him,  crossing  his  arms ;  then  he  caught  his  hand,  and  raised  him 
with  a  sudden  jerk.  The  Emir  smiled  graciously,  as  if  thanking 
him  for  a  civility.  The  French  public,  reading  the  account  of 
those  proceedings,  believed  the  General  had  done  a  bold  deed. 
But  the  Arabs  looked  at  it  from  the  contrary  point  of  view;  They 
saw  only  a  humiliation  of  the  French  General,  the  act  of  a  ser- 
vant, like  that  when  Emperor  Barbarossa  held  the  stirrups  of 
the  Pope.  It  was  half-past  six  when  the  conversation  came  to  a 
close  :  the  sun  was  hidden  behind  clouds.  Abd-el-Kader,  with- 
out looking  back,  vaulted  on  his  horse,  and  galloped  at  full 
speed  up  the  hill ;  his  hundred  and  fifty  chieftains  followed  him. 
The  army,  which  until  now  had  remained  motionless,  uttered  a 
long  protracted  yell,  which  began  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and 
rolled  upwards  like  the  surge  of  the  tide.  A  sudden  clap  of  thunder, 
re-echoed  by  the  mountains,  heightened  the  sublimity  of  the  effect. 

"  Bugeaud  approached  us  with  the  words,  '  What  a  haughty 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  299 

man !  yet  I  have  forced  him  to  rise.'  He  might  have  felt  that 
the  Arabs  did  not  deem  his  behaviour  very  heroic. 

"  We  were  seriously  affected  by  all  we  had  seen,  and  almost 
thought  we  had  been  dreaming.  General  Bugeaud  remained 
likewise  silent  and  thoughtful.  Arrived  at  the  camp,  the  officers, 
anxious  to  know  what  had  been  going  on,  crowded  round  us, 
envying  our  good  luck  to  have  been  present  at  the  interview. 
But  the  old  Mustapha-Ben-Ismael  sat  with  darkened  glance  on 
the  ground :  his  venerable  head  sank  to  his  chest :  he  looked 
like  a  dying  patriarch.  Hearing  that  all  had  been  settled,  and 
that  no  fighting  was  to  go  on  against  Abd-el-Kader,  he  said  with 
bitterness,  '  Now  I  have  nothing  more  to  do  than  to  go  to  Mecca 
and  do  penance  in  the  Kaaba  for  having  trusted  the  French.' " 

General  Damremont  was  apprized  of  the  treaty  at  the  Tafna, 
just  when  he  had  proceeded  with  a  column  against  the  Hajutes. 
He  immediately  retreated,  and  all  hostilities  were  suspended. 
The  French  could  now  turn  their  forces  against  the  Bey  of  Con- 
stantine.  Colonel  Duvivier  had  formed  a  strong  place  of  arms 
out  of  the  ruins  of  Ghelma  (Calama),  since  he  had  been  left  there 
by  Marshal  Clauzel  with  one  battalion,  after  the  failure  of  the 
first  expedition.  He  likewise  succeeded  in  gaining  the  affection 
of  the  surrounding  tribes  for  the  French.  He  had  employed  his 
soldiers  in  building  a  road  towards  Constantine,  and  prepared 
everything  for  the  new  expedition.  In  August,  General  Damre- 
mont went  himself  to  Ghelma,  and  from  thence  with  five  thousand 
men  to  Mejez-Ammar,  where  a  new  camp  was  formed.  Here 
the  governor  waited  for  the  result  of  the  negotiations,  which  were 
begun  by  the  Jew  Busnac,  and  afterwards  continued  by  the  Moor 
Ben-Kherim.  But  these  remained  without  result,  and  the  French 
army  had  once  more  to  march  against  the  old  capital  of  Numidia. 

On  the  26th  of  September  1837, 1  arrived  with  Captain  Muralt, 
and  the  members  of  the  Scientific  Commission,  at  Mejez-Ammar. 
This  new  camp  was  at  a  distance  of  twenty-seven  leagues  from 
Bona,  and  had  got  its  name  from  the  Arab  denomination  of  the 


300  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

luxuriant  forest-valley,  bisected  by  the  river  Seybuss.  The 
mountain  scenery  is  here  somewhat  monotonous;  but  handsome 
groups  of  tamarisks,  corkoaks,  cypresses,  mastich-trees,  and  dwarf- 
palms,  adorn  the  slopes  and  the  banks  of  the  lonely  waters.  The 
vegetation  has  strange  and  odd  forms,  consisting  mostly  of  ever- 
greens, w'hich  do  not  move  in  the  wind,  and  give  the  country  a 
peculiarly  melancholy  aspect.  The  valley  forms  a  gigantic  caul- 
dron, and  is  surrounded  by  the  chain  of  the  Atlas,  rising  to  a 
considerable  height,  especially  in  the  west  and  south-west,  where 
the  Ras-el-Akbah  presents  its  conical  bald  front  of  rocks.  The 
valley  is  about  two  hours'  travel  in  circumference,  and  nearly 
half  of  its  extent  was  occupied  by  the  French  camp. 

Whoever  had  known  the  country  of  Mejez-Ammar  would  not 
have  recognised  it  after  the  French  army  had  stayed  there  for  six 
weeks.  The  bush- wilderness  was  partially  cleared,  and  its  centre 
occupied  by  wooden  barracks,  white  tents,  and  green  buildings 
made  of  the  branches  of  trees.  They  looked  uncommonly  elegant. 
The  roofs,  the  walls,  and  columns,  were  all  put  together  of  pis- 
tachio-wood, not  stripped  of  the  foliage,  which,  though  long  cut 
down,  had  remained  fresh  and  green.  Several  of  these  light 
houses  were  united  with  others  by  a  series  of  green  bowers,  used 
as  the  mess-rooms  of  the  officers.  I  had  here  the  opportunity  of  ad- 
miring the  skill  and  industry  of  the  French  soldiers.  To  adorn 
these  buildings,  they  had  no  other  time  to  devote  but  their  hours 
of  leisure,  of  which  they  had  but  few,  since  it  was  their  task  to 
make  the  high-road  to  the  Ras-el-Akbah,  to  dig  trenches  round 
the  camp,  to  raise  fortifications  on  the  mountains,  and  all  this 
under  the  rays  of  an  African  sun  in  September,  whilst  continually 
worried  by  a  lurking  enemy.  Yet  the  wilderness  of  Mejez-Ammar 
looked  like  a  French  park,  studded  with  garden-houses,  alleys, 
and  bowers. 

The  Duke  of  Nemours  arrived  a  few  hours  after  us,  and  re- 
viewed the  army  ;  nine  thousand  men  defiled  before  him,  troops 
of  every  denomination.  The  regiments  lately  arrived  were  in 
marked  contrast  with  those  acclimated;   they  looked  fresh  and 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  301 

youthful,  whilst  the  soldiers  of  the  47th  and  63d  regiments  of  the 
line,  and  of  the  17th  and  2d  light  infantry,  who  had  already  tried 
the  harassing  service  of  Africa,  were  all  thin  and  sunburnt,  nearly 
resembling  Kabyles.  But  the  main  strength  of  the  army  con- 
sisted in  those  acclimated  regiments  :  it  required  an  iron  consti- 
tution to  endure  for  five  or  six  years  the  heat,  the  fevers,  and  the 
vermin-torture  of  Africa. 

When  the  French  infantry  had  passed  with  trumpet- sound 
before  the  Prince  and  his  retinue,  the  African  corps  followed, 
which  are  not  relieved  like  the  regiments  of  the  line.  First  came 
the  Zuaves,  one  of  the  most  gallant  corps,  invaluable  in  mountain 
warfare.  They  are  foot- soldiers,  wearing  uniforms  of  the  old 
Turkish  cut,  broad  red  trousers  descending  to  the  knee,  leather 
gaiters,  waist-coats  and  jackets  of  dark  blue  cloth,  adorned  with 
red  lace,  and  no  collar.  They  shave  their  head  and  cover  it  with 
a  turban.  Two  thirds  of  the  Zuaves  are  French  volunteers,  one 
third  natives,  Kabyles,  Arabs,  Turks,  Moors,  and  Negroes.  The 
natives  form  companies  of  their  own ;  they  wear  a  green  turban, 
whilst  that  of  the  French  is  red.  As  skirmishers  they  are  unsur- 
passed. Of  late  years  they  had  taken  part  in  all  the  important 
expeditions ;  they  always  made  the  best  booty  where  there  was 
room  for  ply.nder,  but  they  likewise  received  everywhere  the  first 
bullets. 

The  so-called  "  Bataillons  d'Afrique,"  are  formed  of  those  sol- 
diers who  have  been  sentenced  in  France  to  imprisonment.  The 
French  military  prisons  are  disgorged  to  Africa,  and  the  French 
regiments  purified  in  this  way  from  bad  characters.  The  service 
of  these  soldiers  was  nearly  as  valuable  as  that  of  the  Zuaves. 
They  are  dissolute  fellows  in  garrison,  but  full  of  daring  courage 
and  contempt  of  death.  The  Generals  Clauzel  and  Duvivier,  who 
knew  how  to  carry  on  war  in  Africa,  employed  the  "  African 
battalions"  in  preference  to  others  whenever  a  bold  stroke  was  to 
be  made. 

The  "Tirailleurs  d'Afrique"  were  a  new  corps,  which  was  now 
for  the  first  time  in  the  field.     The  "  Foreign  Legion"  was  like- 


302  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

wise  reorganized,  mostly  out  of  the  remains  of  the  former  legion, 
which  had  gone  to  Spain,  and  had  been  disbanded  after  the 
war.  But  many  were  deserters  and  adventurers  of  the  worst  cha- 
racter. Some  of  them  went  to  the  hospitals  feigning  ill  health, 
only  to  escape  the  perils  of  the  campaign.  The  mounted  African 
Rifles,  in  their  Polish  costume,  with  the  short,  wide,  light-blue 
cloak,  and  broad  red  trousers,  are  very  fine  troops.  They  carry 
rifles  and  sabres,  and  ride  on  Arab  horses.  The  review  closed 
with  the  mounted  Spahis  and  Arab  auxiliaries,  in  the  com- 
mon attire  of  the  country,  with  a  red  flag  and  the  crescent: 
their  officers,  nearly  all  Frenchmen,  wear  the  old  Turkish  cos- 
tume. 

The  Commander-in-Chief,  Count  Denys  de  Damremont,  was  a 
robust  man  above  fifty.  His  features  were  somewhat  vulgar, 
without  any  marked  expression;  his  deportment  heavy,  his  de- 
meanour calm  and  cold.  But  his  conversation  was  agreeable, 
courteous,  and  never  passionate.  People  thought  highly  of  his 
jnivate  character,  of  his  military  experience,  cool  courage,  and 
sound  views,  but  not  so  highly  of  his  military  talents. 

The  Duke  of  Nemours  was,  until  the  starting  of  the  array, 
treated  as  Prince,  and  all  honours  due  to  his  rank  were  paid  to 
him.  But  on  the  1st  of  October,  he  entered  on  service  as 
General  of  Brigade,  and  had  only  three  aides-de-camp  in  his 
retinue.  He  is  a  handsome  man,  slender  and  delicate,  with  fair 
hair,  blue  eyes,  and  an  aquiline  nose.  His  features  are  noble, 
his  deportment  princely.  I  saw  him  always  calm,  thoughtful, 
and  reserved. 

General  Perregaux,  the  chief  of  the  staff,  and  intimate  friend 
of  Damremont,  was  between  forty  and  fifty.  Then,  with  a  bushy 
moustache  and  goat-beard,  fiery  black  eyes,  he  had  a  merry, 
expressive,  noble  countenance.  He  was  the  leading  spirit  of  the 
army :  the  plan  of  operations  was  nearly  exclusively  his  work ; 
and,  besides,  he  was  burdened  with  the  military  administration : 
he  had  to  watch  and  to  care,  and  was  responsible  for  everything. 
Whilst  in  the  camp  of  Mejez-Ammar,  he  had  no  rest  for  a  single 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  303 

night:  his  aide-de-camp  assured  me  that  in  one  week  he  had 
grown  gray. 

The  corps  destined  for  the  expedition  against  Constantine 
formed  an  army  of  16,000  men,  hut  4000  of  them  lay  sick  in 
the  hospitals.  The  cholera  had  hroken  out  in  one  of  the  regi- 
ments newly  arrived  from  Marseilles;  it  had  to  he  put  under 
quarantine,  and  could  not  take  part  in  the  campaign.  The  occu- 
pying of  the  principal  camps  intermediate  to  Bona  and  Mejez- 
Ammar  absorbed  again  a  considerable  number  of  troops,  so  as  to 
leave  for  the  expedition  little  more  than  8000  men.  Though  the 
12th  regiment  had  been  removed,  yet  there  were  always  cases  of 
cholera  in  the  other  corps,  and  two  months  later  it  broke  out 
with  dreadful  vehemence.  The  diseases  of  the  army  were,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  fever  and  diarrhoea.  The  wooden 
barracks  of  the  camp  of  Mejez-Ammar,  Ghelma,  Hammam-Berda, 
and  Drean,  were  scarcely  spacious  enough  to  accommodate  the 
patients.  The  provision-waggons  had  to  take  them  daily  as  back- 
freight  to  Bona,  and  even  here  the  hospitals  were  soon  over- 
crowded ;  the  poor  men  had  to  be  conveyed  by  steamers  to  Algiers 
and  to  France.  I  found  some  of  the  officers  of  my  acquaintance, 
who  had  left  Bona  full  of  health,  broken  by  sufferings  in  the 
camp.  Pale  and  languid,  they  heard  from  the  hospital  the  war- 
like noise  summoning  us  to  start.  When  the  drums  were  beaten 
and  the  cannon  roared,  their  dim  eyes  glistened  with  powerless 
enthusiasm.  For  a  year  they  had  longed  for  that  campaign : 
they  had  willingly  endured  the  tediousness  and  toil  of  camp  life, 
and  hoped  for  a  remuneration  in  the  excitement  at  the  breach  of 
Constantine.  Now  they  were  laid  upon  a  sick-bed  with  broken 
strength,  and  gazed  with  despair  on  our  departure.  I  felt  pe- 
culiar commiseration  for  Lieutenant  Damas,  a  young  engineer 
officer.  He  was  a  noble  heroic  youth,  amiable,  as  the  French 
generally  are,  and  fond  of  his  service  even  more  than  is  usual 
with  the  French.  On  the  day  of  the  departure  of  the  army,  he 
left  his  sick-bed,  dressed  himself  in  full  regimentals,  girded  on 
his  sabre,  and  came  out  of  his  tent,  gazing  on  the  defiling  regi- 


304  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OP  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

raents,  who  marched  onward  with  French  light-heartedness,  with- 
out any  gloomy  thought,  to  a  bloody  expedition.  When  he  saw 
his  own  corps  passing  along,  he  grew  yet  paler  than  before, 
looked  with  melancholy  sympathy  on  his  soldiers,  and  silently 
shook  hands  with  the  officers.  "  Adieu,  Damas,  we  shall  meet 
again  at  Constantine,"  said  they  to  comfort  him;  and  Damas 
nodded  sadly.  But  they,  as  well  as  he,  were  mistaken.  The 
company  to  which  Damas  belonged  formed  the  forlorn-hope  of 
the  storm,  and  nearly  all  the  officers  were  killed  by  the  explosion 
of  a  mine,  whilst  poor  Damas  died  broken-hearted  when  he  saw 
his  flag  disappear  on  the  height  of  the  Ras-el- Akbah. 

The  camp-scenes  of  Mejez-Ammar  had  considerable  interest  for 
me,  though  I  had  been  an  eye-witness  of  African  camp-life  for 
nearly  a  twelvemonth.  But  here  the  army  was  more  numerous 
than  in  the  camps  round  Algiers ;  a  caravan  of  publicans  and 
pedlars  followed  the  troops,  and  they  had  built  a  little  village  of 
coffee-houses,  gin-shops,  and  stalls,  at  Mejez-Ammar,  which  were 
always  filled  with  drinking,  gambling,  and  idling  officers  and 
soldiers.  I  never  saw  one  of  them  resting  long  in  the  same 
place :  there  is  a  peculiar  restlessness  in  the  French  soldier :  it 
would  be  a  torture  for  him  to  sit  for  one  hour  over  a  bottle  of 
wine,  at  the  same  table,  and  in  the  same  company.  In  the 
coffee-houses  there  is  a  continual  in-and-out  flowing  of  guests  ;  in 
the  open  air  the  fires  are  kindled  and  the  pans  are  bubbling. 
Some  of  the  soldiers  look  for  craw-fish  in  the  brooks,  or  seek 
for  tortoises  in  the  meadows ;  others  shoot  partridges  or  boars ; 
others,  again,  look  out  for  cactus-figs,  or  dig  for  the  roots  of  the 
dwarf-palm,  whilst  their  comrades  prepare  the  dainties  for  supper, 
always  chatting  and  singing  and  moving  about. 

Ahmed  Bey  had  been  encamped  with  his  army  on  the  heights 
of  the  Ras-el- Akbah  up  to  the  28th  September.  Three  days 
before  our  arrival,  he  had  made  a  desperate  attack  on  the  out- 
posts of  the  camp.  It  was  principally  the  Kabyles  who  had 
resolutely  undertaken  the  storm.  The  reason  of  this  attack  was 
the  scantiness  of  provisions  in  the  camp  of  the  Bey,     His  prin- 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  305 

cipal  force  was  Kabyles,  chiefly  the  fanatical  tribes  south  of  Bujia. 
They  had  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  August,  since  Ahmet  had 
then  expected  the  French  army,  whose  delays  were  to  him 
inexplicable,  as  the  rainy  season  approached,  which  makes  the 
transport  of  heavy  artillery  almost  impossible  on  the  road  to  Con- 
♦  stantine.  The  Kabyles,  much  as  they  longed  for  a  fight  with 
the  infidels,  were  not  less  anxious  to  get  back  to  their  homes. 
Like  all  mountaineers,  they  are  uncommonly  fond  of  their  birth- 
place, of  their  wives  and  children,  of  their  huts  and  fields ;  even 
their  gloomy  fanaticism  is  not  sufficient  to  reconcile  them  to  a 
long  separation.  When,  therefore,  nearly  two  months  had  passed, 
and  the  French  still  remained  immoveable  in  their  camp,  the 
home-sick  Kabyles  urged  the  Bey  to  lead  them  against  the  infi- 
dels ;  they  wished  to  give  an  evidence  of  their  zeal  for  their  faith 
before  they  departed.  Accordingly,  on  the  2d,  the  French  out- 
posts were  surprised  at  daybreak  by  some  three  or  four  thousand 
barbarians,  yelling  furiously.  The  attack  was  so  sudden  and  so  re- 
solute, that  had  the  Kabyles  not  betrayed  themselves  by  their 
yells,  many  soldiers,  who  were  occupied  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
camp  in  felling  trees,  or  catching  tortoises,  would  have  been  in  the 
greatest  danger.  The  signals  on  the  mountains  spread  the  alarm 
through  the  camp  just  in  time,  and  the  fast  approaching  enemy 
was  received  by  a  rolling  musket-fire.  Upon  our  arrival  after- 
wards, my  friends  painted  this  spectacle  to  us  in  such  glowing 
colours,  that  we  were  very  sorry  not  to  have  witnessed  this  inter- 
esting episode.  On  the  western  mountains  especially,  the  combat 
looked  most  picturesque  :  a  small  fortified  post  had  served  here 
as  a  look-out,  and  the  Kabyles  believed  they  could  easily  carry 
them.  The  trench  was  closely  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  first 
attacking  boldly,  but  soon  seeking  a  shelter  in  the  thicket  against 
the  bullets  which  poured  on  them,  both  from  the  camp  under- 
neath and  from  the  trenches  above.  But  they  returned  the  fire, 
which  flashed  up  from  every  bush,  even  where  the  Kabyles  could 
not  be  seen.  After  a  hard  struggle  of  three  hours,  the  moun- 
taineers saw  how  useless  their  attack  was,  and  withdrew,  carrying 


306  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

ofif  the  corpses  of  their  fallen  comrades  on  their  shoulders.  Yet  a  few 
days  later,  when  we  accompanied  the  Prince  of  Nemours  to  an  ex- 
cursion to  Hammam-Meskhutin,  we  saw  several  corpses  still  lying 
amongst  the  precipices.  The  French  army  made  no  sally,  because 
General  Damremont  knew  that  from  three  to  four  thousand  of 
Ahmet's  regulars  were  supporting  the  Kabyles,  and  he  wished  to 
avoid  any  serious  engagement  before  the  beginning  of  the  opera- 
tions. He  had  well  judged  the  character  of  the  Kabyles;  the 
majority  of  them  grew  tired,  and  returned  to  their  mountain  homes. 
The  Bey  himself  gave  up  his  position  on  the  Ras-el-Akbah  on  the 
28th  of  September,  and  returned  to  Constantine. 

On  the  29th,  I  dined  with  Colonel  Lamoriciere,  the  celebrated 
commander  of  the  Zuaves.  The  tent  of  this  officer  stood  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  Seybuss,  at  the  most  advanced  out-posts. 
No  trenches  defended  it,  and  as  a  surprise  by  the  enemy  would 
have  been  easy  from  that  side,  a  third  of  the  Zuave  regiment 
lay  always  here  in  ambuscade.  The  Arabs  knew  it,  and  did  not 
appear.  Colonel  Lamoriciere  relied  on  his  soldiers,  and  slept 
quietly  in  his  open  tent.  This  officer  has  such  a  winning  appear- 
ance, that  even  a  short  conversation  leaves  a  lasting  impression. 
He  is  a  native  of  La  Vendee,  the  son  of  a  country  gentleman  in 
the  vicinity  of  Nantes.  His  early  inclination  for  military  service 
made  him  one  of  the  most  distinguished  students  of  the  Polytechnic 
School,  when  he  was  sent  as  Lieutenant  of  the  Engineers  to  the 
African  army.  His  talents,  his  energetic  character,  and  his  remark- 
able eloquence,  made  him  so  conspicuous,  that  he  was  soon  trans- 
ferred from  his  learned  special  service — where  the  opportunity  for 
distinction  is  rare,  and  the  advancement  slow — to  the  infantry. 
Here  he  rapidly  rose  from  rank  to  rank.  He  studied  African 
warfare  with  great  success,  and  was  just  as  clever  in  devising 
a  plan  of  operations  as  in  carrying  it  out  on  the  battle-field.  La- 
moriciere, being  one  of  the  few  French  officers  who  had  soon 
learned  the  Arabic,  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Bureau  Arabe 
established  by  General  Avizard.  He  filled  this  post  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  his  superiors,  but  his  restless  genius  was  little 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  307 

satisfied  with  the  regular,  irksome,  and  minute  labour  in  the 
Bureaus :  he  longed  for  feats  of  arms,  and  for  the  bustle  of  the 
battle.  As  soon  as  he  was  called  to  the  command  of  the  light 
infantry  corps  of  the  Zuaves,  he  felt  that  this  was  the  post  fit  for 
him.  He  always  stood  on  the  extreme  out- post,  and  usually  com- 
manded the  vanguard  in  smaller  expeditions.  Whenever  there 
were  operations  to  be  carried  on  requiring  boldness  and  presence 
of  mind,  no  better  officer  could  be  found  than  Colonel  Lamoriciere. 
He  spent  all  his  time  in  the  training  of  his  corps,  and  made  his 
Zuaves  the  best  regiment  of  the  French  African  army.  He  had 
the  Napoleonic  tact  of  dealing  with  French  soldiers,  which  cannot 
be  acquired,  and  which  is  possessed  by  very  few  men.  Some- 
times he  seemed  to  be  their  confidential  fellow- soldier,  then  again 
their  commanding  chief;  his  friendliness  never  lowered  his 
dignity,  nor  did  his  commanding  demeanour  hurt  anybody. 
Moreover,  he  was  always  just,  and  ready  to  attend  to  the  com- 
plaints of  those  who  thought  themselves  injured.  His  soldiers 
loved  him  enthusiastically,  and  there  was  not  one  amongst  them 
who,  in  distress,  would  not  have  readily  shared  his  last  piece  of 
bread  with  the  commander,  or  would  not  have  been  willing  to 
spill  his  own  blood  for  him.  His  noble  qualities,  a  chivalric  turn 
of  mind  and  gallantry,  enthusiastic  love  of  his  country  and  its 
glory,  frankness  and  amiability,  earned  for  him  so  many  friends, 
that  even  his  rapid  preferment  over  officers  of  longer  service  did 
not  rouse  jealousy. 

Lamoriciere  was  then  twenty-eight  years  old.  He  is  short  and 
muscular,  with  an  uncommonly  winning  countenance.  His  free 
and  bold  forehead  is  shaded  by  long,  jet-black  hair;  the  expres- 
sion of  his  large,  dark-piercing  eye  is  bold  and  good-natured;  the 
nobly  formed  nose,  the  black  moustaches  and  imperial,  and  the 
handsome  cut  of  his  countenance,  are  those  of  a  hero ;  his  deport- 
ment, especially  on  horseback,  is  imposing,  and  inspires  the  belief 
that  he  must  be  a  favourite  with  fortune. 

We  had  an  agreeable  dinner,  discussing  war  and  Bedouins. 
With  the  prospect  of  the  bivouacs,  and  marches  through  mud, 


308  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

these  last  hours  of  social  conversation  under  the  comfortable  tent, 
and  the  well-dressed  table,  with  a  good  flask  of  claret,  were 
doubly  precious  to  us.  We  remained  together  till  midnight. 
Lamoriciere  was  uncommonly  talkative,  and  he  speaks  so  well! 
His  brilliant  fancies  and  witty  retorts,  his  pleasant  voice  and 
lively  conversation,  are  really  irresistible.  He  evinced  a  superi- 
ority over  all  his  guests,  even  over  my  friend  Berbrugger,  whose 
volubility  is  usually  unequalled.  We  spoke  much  about  the  im- 
pending expedition.  "  Should  it  rain,"  said  one  of  the  officers,  "we 
shall  be  unable  to  transport  our  battery-train."  "  It  will  not  rain," 
replied  Lamoriciere,  with  decision.  "  But,"  remarked  I,  "  even 
if  we  carry  our  twenty-four  pounders  to  the  spot,  the  result  is  yet 
not  so  certain,  according  to  all  I  have  heard  about  the  strong  posi- 
tion of  Constantine.  Should  Ahmet  surround  the  weak  point  of 
the  city  on  Kudiat-Ati  with  trenches  and  ditches,  then  we  shall 
require  more  than  a  week  to  destroy  the  works ;  and  both  powder 
and  ammunition  may  fail  before  the  breach  is  practicable.  It  re- 
mains questionable,  therefore,  whether  the  first  storm  will  succeed. 
You  are  aware  how  obstinately  the  Turks  defend  themselves 
behind  walls  and  ditches.  Remember  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  which 
is  not  so  strong  as  Constantine.  Do  not  forget  what  resistance 
the  Russian  armies  met  with  before  Ibrail,  Varna,  and  Silistria, 
where  the  first  attack  always  failed,  and  the  besiegers  had  to  lie 
before  the  walls  for  long  months."  "  I  know  the  Russo-Turkish 
war,"  replied  Lamoriciere;  "I  have  studied  it  with  minuteness, 
and  I  know  likewise  the  advantages  of  our  army  over  the  Russian 
troops.  Be  assured  Constantine  will  fall  before  the  eighth  day. 
There  is  only  one  possibility  of  failure.  I  will  tell  you  what 
Ahmet  has  to  do  in  order  to  save  Constantine.  I'll  tell  it,"  said 
he,  smiling;  "  since,  after  all,  you  will  not  communicate  it  to  him. 
Should  he  attack  our  vanguard  on  the  flank,  he  will  be  beaten ; 
but  if  he  throws  himself  on  our  rear,  and  attacks  our  baggage- 
train  on  the  first  day  only  with  two  hundred,  on  the  second  with 
two  thousand  horsemen,  and  on  the  third  with  all  his  army,  then 
he  might  throw  us  into  such  confusion,  that  we  should  arrive 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  309 

before  Constantine  without  any  reasonable  hope  of  success."  I 
made  some  more  objections,  when  Lamorici^re  offered  a  wager  of 
twenty  bottles  of  Champagne  against  two,  that  Constantine  would 
fall  in  a  few  days.  I  accepted,  and  was  mightily  glad  when  in 
Constantine  to  have  lost. 

Amongst  the  guests  was  likewise  Captain  Levaillant,  son  of 
the  celebrated  African  traveller,  and  himself  a  remarkable  man. 
Tie  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  boldest  and  bravest  shot  in 
the  whole  army.  With  his  double-barrelled  rifle,  he  ranged 
through  the  forests  round  Algiers,  and  shot  there  the  first  lion 
which  fell  by  a  French  bullet.  He  ventured  even  among  the 
Hajutes,  relying  on  his  acquaintance  with  the  language  of  the 
natives,  his  good  rifle,  and  his  unusual  bodily  strength.  Scarcely 
arrived  at  Mejez-Ammar,  he  visited  the  "  accursed  springs," 
quite  by  himself,  while  Ahmet's  army  was  encamped  in  their 
vicinity.  He  met  some  Arabs,  but  none  of  them  dared  to  attack 
him.  When  the  Duke  of  Nemours  visited  the  same  spot,  it  was 
thought  right  to  send  three  regiments  to  escort  him. 

On  the  next  day,  a  deserter  arrived  in  the  French  camp.  He 
was  clad  in  the  coarse  regimentals  of  Ahmet's  regular  infantry. 
According  to  him,  discontentment  prevailed  amongst  the  troops  of 
the  Bey :  they  had  scanty  provisions,  and  were  tired  of  war :  many 
of  the  Kabyles  had  returned  to  their  mountains.  This  deserter 
was  a  Spanish  renegade :  he  had  lived  for  a  long  time  in  Morocco, 
had  learned  the  Arabic,  which  he  spoke  like  a  native,  and,  after 
having  led  a  roving  life  amongst  the  Bedouin  tribes,  he  had  come 
to  Constantine,  and  enlisted  in  the  army  of  Ahmet.  The  French 
took  him  for  a  spy,  and  watched  him  closely:  he  took  service 
amongst  the  Zuaves,  and  became  one  of  the  foremost  amongst 
those  who  entered  the  breach  of  Constantine. 

The  most  distinguished  of  the  superior  officers  whom  I  met  in 
Mejez-Ammar  was  Colonel  Combes.  He  was  far  from  being  so 
dazzling  as  Lamorici^re,  but  his  mildness  and  serenity  were  j^et 
more  winning.  Ever  since  1830,  he  had  remained  colonel:  he  had 
not  been  promoted,  for  he  was  a  republican ;  yet  this  did  not  em- 


310  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

bitter  his  feelings ;  he  served  monarchical  France  with  equal  zeal ; 
he  did  not  seek  the  patronage  of  his  chiefs ;  and  when  a  manoeuvre 
or  operation  succeeded  which  he  had  planned  or  carried,  he  left  the 
merit  and  advantages  of  it,  without  jealousy,  to  his  superiors. 
Combes,  like  many  of  the  French,  was  an  admirer  of  the  deeds  and 
of  the  organising  power  of  ancient  Rome;  he  had  studied  all  the 
old  works  on  Numidia,  and  united  the  simplicity  and  heroism  of 
the  classic  conquerors  of  the  world  with  all  the  riches  of  modern 
civilization.  He  loved  his  soldiers  like  a  father,  and  was  always 
an  equitable  judge.  I  never  witnessed  a  more  unanimous  and 
deeper  mourning  than  that  of  the  47  th  regiment,  when  they  accom- 
panied to  its  last  resting-place  the  corpse  of  their  commander,  who 
fell  in  the  moment  of  the  capture  of  Constantino. 

General  Trezel  was  likewise  a  remarkable  man  among  the 
superior  officers.  I  had  made  his  personal  acquaintance  while 
yet  at  Bona,  and  was  happy  to  meet  him  here  once  more  amidst 
the  noise  of  the  camp-life.  Long  before  I  came  to  Bona,  I  had 
heard  so  much  of  the  General,  of  his  gallantry  at  Bujia,  of  his 
energy  against  Abd-el-Kader,  that  I  imagined  him  to  be  a 
weather-beaten  soldier,  of  martial  deportment,  and  rather  rough 
manners.  I  found  a  person  of  uncommonly  small  size,  of  delicate 
body,  elegant  form,  with  an  almost  female  voice,  and  a  most  bene- 
volent expression  of  countenance.  But  in  sight  of  the  enemy, 
Trezel  was  an  iron  warrior,  and  on  the  battle-day  his  dwarfish 
figure  and  mild  voice  appeared  altogether  changed.  All  who 
had  seen  him  on  the  Makta  spoke  with  admiration  of  his  wonder- 
ful energy,  and  his  uncommon  personal  bravery  on  that  ill-fated 
day.  Trezel  is  covered  with  scars.  At  Waterloo,  he  lost  one 
eye;  at  Bujia,  he  was  shot  through  the  thigh;  in  the  first  expe- 
dition to  Constantino,  he  received  a  bullet  in  his  neck.  Accord- 
ing to  the  opinion  of  the  most  competent  men  of  the  army, 
General  Trezel  was  unfit  for  chief  command,  but  excellent  when 
acting  under  superior  orders. 

Not  the  twentieth  part  of  the  natives  had  arrived  who  had  pro- 
mised to  come  for  the  announced  expedition.     The   twenty   or 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  311 

thirty  Sheikhs,  who  had  pledged  themselves  to  Colonel  Duvivier 
at  Ghelraa  to  share  in  the  campaign,  had  all  failed  to  come. 
The  few  whom  we  saw  at  jNIejez-Ammar  were  deposed  chiefs, 
who  hoped  to  be  reinstalled  in  their  former  power,  or  adventurers 
who  had  nothing  to  lose,  and  calculated  on  booty  or  other  advan- 
tages. Only  the  Beni-Urshin  and  the  Kharesas  had  sent  auxi- 
liaries. I  met  here  Ben-Zecri,  the  late  Kaid  of  the  Aribes,  who 
Seemed,  at  meeting  me  again,  immediately  to  remember  with 
pleasure  the  excellent  dinner  we  had  together  enjoyed  with  M. 
Suchet  at  Rassota.  Another  refugee  was  Haji-Soliman  of  Con- 
stantine,  the  brother-in-law  of  Ahmet-Bey,  and  formerly  his  vice- 
gerent. Though  short  in  stature,  he  had  the  most  distinguished 
and  most  handsome  Turkish  countenance  I  ever  saw.  All  the 
Europeans  noticed  that  he  decidedly  resembled  a  lion,  and  his 
magnificent  gray  beard  looked  really  like  a  mane.  Haji-Soliman 
had  formerly  such  influence  in  the  province  that  the  jealousy 
of  his  brother-in-law  was  roused.  Soliman,  warned  of  the  dark 
designs  of  Ahmet,  fled  to  Tunis,  whence  he  came  to  Bona,  before 
the  first  expedition  against  Constantine.  He  offered  his  services, 
and  got  the  pay  of  a  captain.  It  was  generally  believed,  Damre- 
mont  had  the  intention  of  appointing  him  Bey  of  the  province  after 
the  downfal  of  Ahmet,  and  had  the  General  lived,  this  might 
certainly  have  been  the  case.  The  natives  already  paid  him  the 
honours  of  their  future  chief. 

The  bustle  daily  grew  greater  in  the  camp.  Enormous  trans- 
ports of  provisions  and  munitions  of  war  arrived  from  Bona ;  the 
coffee-houses  were  crowded;  Marabuts  and  Sheikhs  flocked  in, 
probably  to  spy  our  movements.  Of  foreigners  there  were  present 
Colonel  Sir  Grenville  Temple,  two  Danes,  an  Austrian,  a  Saxon, 
and  a  Bavarian  officer,  besides  my  friend  and  tent- companion. 
Captain  Muralt,  a  Switzer.  Many  speculators  and  traders  had 
likewise  arrived,  who  sold  spirits  and  tobacco  to  the  army,  and 
calculated  on  buying  the  plunder  of  Constantine  from  the  soldiers. 
Many  Maltese  had  come  from  Bona,  some  as  muleteers,  others  seek- 
ing service  as  footmen.     They  were  the  laziest  and  most  thievish 


312 

act  of  fellows  I  ever  saw.  From  Bona  till  our  departure  from  the 
camp,  I  had  four  times'  to  turn  my  servant  away,  and  the  new 
one  was  always  worse  than  the  former. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  the  last  detachments  of  cavalry  and 
the  last  transport  of  provisions  arrived  from  Bona.  The  morrow 
Avas   a  day  of  rest,  and  the  last   preparations   were   made  for 


On  the  1st  of  October,  long  before  sunrise,  the  roll  of  the  drums 
and  the  flourish  of  the  trumpets  were  heard  merry  and  shrill. 
Clouds  covered  the  sky  when  our  vanguard  began  to  move;  the 
bulk  of  the  army  followed  rather  heavily,  as  the  poor  soldiers  had, 
besides  their  heavy  knapsacks,  to  carry  a  supply  of  wood  for 
several  days  on  their  backs.  We  marched  with  great  noise 
through  the  wild  bushy  valley  up  the  Ras-el-Akbah,  whose  rocky 
summit  was  veiled  by  vapoury  mist  which  soon  dissolved  into 
rain.  The  army  consisted  of  eight  thousand  soldiers  and  was 
divided  into  four  brigades.  The  first  was  placed  under  the  orders 
of  the  Duke  of  Nemours ;  under  him  served  the  distinguished 
Colonel  Lamorici^re,  with  his  Zuaves :  General  Trezel  com- 
manded the  second.  Both  brigades  were  under  the  direct  orders 
of  General  Damremont.  They  were  followed  by  an  immense 
baggage-train,  which  greatly  encumbered  the  army,  and  required 
a  whole  brigade  under  General  Rulhieres  for  escort.  Colonel 
Combes  commanded  the  fourth  brigade,  which  formed  the  rear. 

On  the  height  of  the  mountain-road  the  two  first  brigades 
halted,  and  bivouacked  on  the  very  spot  where,  only  a  few  days  ago, 
Ahmet-Bey  had  encamped  with  his  cavalry.  Straw  was  found 
in  abundance.  The  soldiers  took  the  wood  from  their  knapsacks, 
and  the  heights  were  soon  covered  with  fires ;  the  frying-pans 
whizzed,  and  French  cookery  prepared,  considering  the  circum- 
stances, most  savoury  meals  here,  where  some  days  ago  the  kuskusu 
of  the  Arabs  of  Ahmet  had  smoked.  About  ten  minutes  east  of 
our  bivouac,  on  the  declivity  of  the  mountain,  rose  the  beautiful 
ruins  well-known  in  this  country  under  the  name  of  "Anunah :" 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  313 

they  appeared  quite  spectral  when  the  mist  began  to  disperse. 
There,  in  the  amphitheatre  of  the  ancient  Roman  city,  crowded 
two  thousand  years  ago  by  a  merry  throng  of  people,  all  looked 
dismal  now,  whilst  the  desolate  path  of  the  Ras-el-Akbah  had 
assumed  a  sprightly  aspect  by  our  presence.  French  soldiers, 
Turkish  and  Arab  Spahis,  Berber  Zuaves,  Negroes,  and  Maltese, 
busily  moved  about,  stirring  the  fires,  cooking,  eating,  talking; 
some  led  their  horses  and  asses  to  the  water,  others  pitched  tents. 
Captain  Muralt  and  I  possessed  a  small  tent  of  coloured  twill, 
hardly  large  enough  for  us  to  indulge  in  a  comfortable  stretch,  and 
yet  this  scanty  shelter  excited  the  envy  of  many  thousands,  as  not 
forty  persons  in  the  whole  army  were  fortunate  enough  to  sleep 
under  cover.  Whilst  my  companion  and  I  were  enjoying  our 
glass,  French  officers,  physicians,  and  painters  came  up,  conversed, 
and  then  again  went  on,  to  look  for  some  other  friends.  Several 
officers,  among  them  Captains  Levaillant  and  Magagnos,  Dr. 
Trubelle,  &c.,  were  zealous  entomologists.  As  often  as  they 
caught  an  unknown  insect,  they  brought  it  to  me;  and  even  before 
Constantine,  during  a  most  violent  cannonade,  the  aide-de-camp  of 
General  Perregaux  hastily  came  to  me  with  two  butterflies  spitted 
to  his  cap  :  he  had  caught  hold  of  this  prey  in  the  very  moment 
when  he  was  delivering  an  order  of  importance  to  Trezel's 
brigade. 

After  our  meal,  we  likewise  wandered  through  the  camp  in 
search  of  some  acquaintances.  We  found  two  members  of  the 
Scientific  Commission  occupied  in  measuring  the  elevations :  curious 
bystanders  were  watching  these  operations.  Some  bold  ramblers 
had  ventured  on  an  excursion  to  the  ruins  of  "Anunah."  Captain 
Muralt  and  I  ascended  the  top  of  the  Ras-el-Akbah,  and  when  we 
passed  the  out-posts,  one  of  the  sentries  said  to  me,  "  I  advise  you, 
sir,  not  to  venture  near  me  at  night:  jon  look  too  much  like  a 
Bedouin."  Mindful  of  this  remark,  I  took  care  not  to  leave  our 
tent  in  the  dark,  as  in  truth  the  Arab  burnus  which  I  used  to 
W'Car  had  already  grown  shabby  enough  to  look  precisely  like 
the  common  cloak  of  the  Bedouin;  and  my  face  was  so  sunburnt. 


314 

that  I  might  easily  have  been  mistaken  for  an  Arab.  From  the  top 
of  the  Ras-el-Akbah,  a  wide  view  spread  before  us.  In  the  south- 
west, our  eyes  swept  over  all  the  mountain -ranges  down  to  Con- 
stantine.  But  the  prospect  had  nothing  attractive — nothing  but  a 
barren  mountain-wilderness,  without  oases,  nowhere  a  living  soul. 
We  gladly  turned  to  the  opposite  direction,  to  the  ever- changing 
and  moving  scenes  of  the  camp.  Even  these,  however,  could  not 
banish  dreary  images  from  our  imagination.  The  lively  groups 
were  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  dark  unnamed  ruins,  and  on  the 
other  side  we  could  distinctly  see  the  clouds  of  smoke  whirling  up 
from  the  "  accursed  springs." 

The  woods  of  jujubes,  tamarisks,  wild  olives,  and  the  thick 
pistachio- shrubs,  which  cover  the  declivities  and  ravines  all  round 
Mejez-Ammar,  lovely  by  their  varied  shades,  disappear  on  the 
Ras-el-Akbah,  which  offers  but  a  desolate  landscape :  the  whole 
way  down  to  Constantine  is  unadorned  by  trees  or  by  shrubs. 

On  the  2d  of  October  we  encamped  at  the  Marabut  Sidi-Tamtam, 
amidst  Arab  tombs.  The  third  and  fourth  brigade  always  re- 
mained half  a  day's  march  behind  us,  to  protect  the  long  baggage- 
train,  which  covered  about  two  French  miles.  I  involuntarily 
remembered  the  remark  of  Lamoriciere,  that  the  success  of  the 
expedition  would  be  most  doubtful,  if  Ahmet-Bey  attacked  the 
rear  of  our  army.  In  fact,  the  number  of  troops  would  not  have 
proved  sufficient  for  the  protection  of  the  baggage:  the  feeblest 
attack  of  the  Arabs  might  have  occasioned  the  most  frightful  con- 
fusion amongst  it.  But  fortunately  Ahmet  had  abandoned  all 
thought  of  a  battle:  he  concentrated  his  whole  resistance  in  the 
capital.  We  often  saw  single  horsemen  on  the  barren  heights, 
but  they  always  disappeared  as  soon  as  our  vanguard  approached. 
On  the  od  of  October,  our  army  bivouacked  by  the  brook  Meres, 
which,  higher  norlh,  is  called  Bu-Mesrag.  Its  delicious  waters 
refreshed  the  soldiers.  On  the  whole,  we  seldom  had  scarcity  of 
water,  for,  though  this  country  is  deficient  in  navigable  streams, 
there  are  smaller  rivulets  and  springs  in  abundance.  We  met  with 
them  almost  every  hour,  and  their  course  has  frequently  a  north- 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  315 

eastern  direction.  It  is  only  in  the  hot  season,  from  July  till 
September,  that  many  of  these  little  brooks  dry  up.  The  monotony 
of  the  scenery  around  us  was  truly  oppressive,  most  especially  to 
several  artists  who  accompanied  the  army.  Their  disappointment 
was  visible  in  their  countenances,  until  at  last,  after  six  days'  march, 
they  were  comforted  by  the  wildly  grand  site  of  Constantine.  But 
with  several  thousand  laughing  and  talking  Frenchmen  even  the 
wilderness  cannot  prove  wearisome;  whilst,  to  the  isolated  traveller, 
these  deserts  of  the  Atlas  must  be  desolate  in  the  extreme.  The 
animal  kingdom  was  yet  more  poorly  represented  here  than  the 
vegetation.  No  insect  buzzed  round  the  scanty  flowers.  The 
white-headed  vulture  {Vuliur  leucoceplialus)  was  our  lasting  com- 
panion. Thousands  of  these  winged  giants  constantly  flew  above 
us.  It  is  impossible  to  watch  without  feelings  of  dismay  these 
carrion  birds;  they  follow  the  march  of  the  army  as  the  sharks 
follow  the  vessel.  During  the  silence -of  night,  we  heard  the 
roaring  of  the  lions  at  a  considerable  distance.  Probably  the 
camp-fires  alone  protected  our  horses  and  mules  against  the  ap- 
proach of  this  terrible  enemy.  The  bald  table-lands  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Constantine  are  the  favourite  haunts  of  the  king  of  beasts; 
here  he  divides  his  sway  with  no  one  but  the  Bedouin.  Here  the 
lion  is  the  absolute  master  during  night,  and  then  he  regularly 
appears  before  the  Arab  encampments,  claiming  as  his  tribute 
some  members  of  the  herd.  As  no  antelopes  live  in  these  barren 
parts,  the  flocks  of  the  Arabs  offer  the  only  prey  to  the  rapacious 
beast. 

Our  march  to  Constantine  lasted  almost  six  days.  This  city  is 
about  twenty-three  French  miles  from  Mejez-Ammar.  We  had 
always  encamped  close  to  a  brook  or  a  spring,  and  the  bivouac 
was  then  baptized  by  the  name  of  the  water,  or  of  the  tribe,  or  by 
the  name  of  some  Marabut  tomb,  to  be  met  with  everywhere  in 
this  country.  The  arrival  of  the  army  at  night-quarters  always 
presents  most  interesting  scenes.  As  soon  as  the  square  is 
closed,  one  cannot  but  admire  the  sprightly  activity  of  the  French 
soldiers.     Some  run  to  get  water,  or  to  collect  stalks  of  thistles, 


316  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

where,  as  here,  there  is  no  wood ;  others  light  the  fires  and  prepare 
the  kitchen.  In  a  few  minutes,  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  camp- 
fires  flicker  on  the  spot,  which,  but  a  short  time  ago,  was  so  soli- 
tary. Here  people  sing,  there  they  chatter  and  laugh.  The  orators 
of  the  bivouac^^commonly  Paris  volunteers,  or  sons  of  Gascony 
— collect  their  audiences,  to  whom  they  give  the  benefit  of  their 
political  views,  and  of  their  opinions  on  approaching  events ;  whilst 
the  honest,  but  somewhat  clumsy  recruits  of  Brittany,  listen  with 
open  mouths  to  the  news-tellers,  whom  they  deem  oracles.  The 
French  army  has  soldiers  as  different  in  their  appearance  and 
ways,  as  the  different  provinces  of  their  birth.  When  the  French 
soldier  has  done  with  his  rice  soup  and  his  hard  biscuit,  he 
immediately  proceeds  to  seek  a  resting-place,  as  comfortable  as 
circumstances  will  permit.  Once  I  even  saw  an  individual  of 
the  Bataillon  d'  Afrique  open  an  Arab  tomb,  throw  out  the  skele- 
ton, and  quarter  himself  in  its  stead  for  the  night.  Others  again 
I  noticed,  long  after  midnight,  sitting  round  the  fire,  boiling  their 
cofiee,  and  talking  over  their  adventures  and  their  beloved  ones  at 
home. 

"With  the  Arabs,  the  habits  of  encamping  are  quite  different. 
Whenever  the  Spahis,  who  always  form  the  van,  have  reached  the 
resting-place,  they  put  their  horses  in  two  rows,  and  attach  their 
feet  to  wooden  poles.  The  Arab  steeds  are  most  docile  animals; 
they  bear  alike  the  spur  and  the  galling  fetters  on  their  feet  with 
the  meekest  patience;  but  they  sorrowfully  bend  their  delicately 
shaped  heads,  their  rich  manes  almost  touching  the  soil,  and  seem 
to  gaze  reproachfully  at  their  hard  masters.  They  suffer  in 
silence,  and  I  never  saw  an  Arab  horse  pulling  itself  off  violently. 
When  these  noble  animals  have  been  provided  with  their  portion 
of  barley  and  fresh  water,  since  they  ever  form  the  first  care  of 
their  masters,  then  only  the  Arabs  all  unite  in  prayer.  With 
faces  turned  eastward,  they  throw  themselves  with  their  heads  to 
the  earth,  rise  and  bend  down  again  like  men  seized  by  epileptic 
convulsions,  whilst  one  of  them  mumbles  the  customary  prayer. 
When  the  last  ray  of  the  departing  sun  falls  on  these  bearded, 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONST ANTINE.  317 

pilgrim-like  figures,  they  assume  an  almost  sainted  aspect.  After 
the  Arab  has  fulfilled  his  pious  duty,  he  gets  merry  and  even 
boisterous.  The  kuskusu  is  warmed,  the  pipe  is  smoked,  the 
younger  of  the  Spahis  begin  their  games  ;  the  old  ones  look 
at  them,  sitting,  with  crossed  legs,  in  a  semi-circle,  whilst  the 
horses  form  the  back-ground.  Whole  dramas  are  performed; 
scenes  of  love,  of  sport,  of  strife,  such  as  the  Bedouins  are  wont  to 
see  in  the  wilderness,  are  represented  by  speeches  and  in  panto- 
mime. In  such  moments,  the  Arabs,  usually  so  calm  and  digni- 
fied, become  like  children;  they  laugh,  they  frolic,  and  are  so 
noisy,  that  they  often  disturb  the  sleep  of  their  French  comrades. 
When  at  last  tired  of  amusement,  they  all  draw  together  in  a  close 
circle,  in  the  centre  of  which  they  put  a  paper  lantern,  and  then 
one  of  them  begins  his  guttural  song,  accompanied  by  a  rough 
guitar  ;  the  others  listen  breathlessly.  Thus  they  remain  assem- 
bled for  several  hours,  often  long  after  most  of  the  fires  of  the 
French  have  disappeared. 

Towards  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  reveille  was  beaten, 
and  the  regimental  music  began  to  play  most  pleasing  melodies. 
Yet  the  existence  of  the  poor  soldiers  ever  remains  only  a  glitter- 
ing misery ;  the  alluring  sounds  were  to  compensate  him  for  the 
dreariness  of  the  mist  and  the  frosty  morning-dew  which  be- 
numbed ever}^  one  of  his  limbs.  As  soon  as  it  grew  sufficiently 
light  to  distinguish  the  path,  the  vanguard  began  to  march.  All 
the  corps  followed  in  given  order.  The  Polish  coats  of  the  Chas- 
seurs, the  Turkish  costume  of  the  Zuaves,  the  flowing  red-and- 
white  burnuses  of  the  Spahis,  and  the  heavy  gray  capotes  of  the 
regiments  of  the  line,  moved  beside  and  behind  one  another. 
The  big  cannon  and  the  long  baggage-train  followed  heavily  in  the 
rear ;  and  behind,  last  of  all,  came  the  third  and  fourth  brigades, 
which  joined  the  army  only  on  the  5th  of  October.  T  often  used 
to  ride  on  sunny  mornings  to  some  neighbouring  height  to  glance 
at  the  picturesque  effect  of  the  marching  army. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  from  the  top  of  a  hill  crowned  by  the 
ruins  of  a  beautiful  Roman  monument,  we  at  last  perceived  Con- 


318  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

stantine,  the  city  which  owes  its  present  fame  mainly  to  the  re- 
pulse of  a  French  Marshal.  "  Constantine ! "  exclaimed  the 
soldiers  joyfully,  clattering  with  their  arms.  After  five  days  of 
march  through  a  desolate  wilderness,  where  no  living  soul  was  to 
be  met,  the  view  of  such  a  considerable  town  proved  most  cheer- 
ing. The  site  of  the  ancient  residence  of  Jugurtha  and  Massi- 
nissa,  in  the  back- ground  of  a  valley,  built  on  a  gigantic  rock, 
was  uncommonly  striking,  though  from  our  point  of  view  we  could 
only  see  a  small  part  of  the  city.  The  Marabut  Sidi-Mubarek,  on 
the  mountain  El-Mansurah,  and  the  single  buildings  on  Kudiat- 
Ati,  were  distinctly  visible.  The  Roman  monument  on  the 
height,  where  the  two  first  brigades  halted  for  several  hours  until 
the  rear  advanced,  is  called  Rommah  by  the  natives ;  it  is  about 
thirty  feet  high,  and  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  monument  in 
the  Place  des  Innocens  at  Paris.  The  great  quantity  of  magnificent 
square  stones,  scattered  below  the  monument,  and  which  no  doubt 
once  formed  a  part  of  it,  show  that  it  must  have  been  of  consider- 
able size. 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  October,  hostilities  began.  Until 
now  we  had  not  beheld  any  Arab,  except  some  distant  videttes. 
The  straw-huts  of  the  Arab  and  Kabyle  villages  from  Ras-el- 
Akbah  down  to  Constantine  were  all  in  flames  before  we  arrived, 
and  the  Chasseurs  found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  saving  some 
forage.  This  fact  did  not  precisely  evince  a  peaceful  disposi- 
tion, and  was  so  much  the  more  striking  as,  during  the  expe- 
dition of  Marshal  Clauzel,  the  inhabitants  of  these  very  same 
villages  had  remained  quietly  in  their  huts,  allowing  their  herds 
to  graze  under  the  very  eye  of  the  army.  When  the  brigades 
slowly  descended  down  to  the  valley  of  the  Ruramel  towards  Con- 
stantine, some  hundred  Arab  horsemen  began  to  attack  the  left 
flank.  But  they  fired  only  from  a  very  great  distance,  not  dis- 
turbing even  for  a  moment  the  dull  progress  of  the  luggage  and 
convoy.  At  about  one  hour  from  Constantine,  the  camp  was 
formed.  Dusk  had  already  set  in  when  we  arrived  at  the  bivouac. 
The  number  of  the  enemy  increased  incessantly.     We  then  all 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  319 

thought  that  the  Bey  would  attempt  a  desperate  attack  during 
night ;  but  single  shots  alone  were  heard  at  the  outposts,  though 
now,  of  course,  more  frequently  than  hitherto,  so  that  we  were 
sometimes  inclined  to  believe  that  a  struggle  was  taking  place. 
Yet  it  was  only  the  watchfulness  of  our  soldiers  on  duty  which  in- 
duced them  to  fire  at  the  slightest  noise.  On  the  6th  of  October, 
we  at  last  encamped  close  before  Constantine.  The  vanguard 
slowly  approached  the  plateau  of  El-Mansurah.  The  Duke  of 
Nemours  rode  at  the  head  with  hi^  three  aides-de-camp,  among 
them  Ney,  Prince  of  the  Moskwa.  The  Governor  was  accom- 
panied by  a  much  more  numerous  suite,  and  during  the  march  he 
avoided  all  communication  with  the  Duke,  except  on  business. 
The  young  Prince  looked  at  that  time  in  feeble  health ;  his  hand- 
some face  was  strikingly  pale ;  but  before  the  walls  of  Constantine 
he  recovered  his  strength.  The  baggage,  the  field-hospital,  and  the 
rear  of  the  army,  encamped  on  a  small  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain of  Mansurah,  whilst  the  suite  of  General  Damremont  took  its 
quarters  in  a  little  tottering  house  of  the  Marabut  Sidi-Mubarek. 
The  tent  of  the  Duke  of  Nemours  was  set  up  in  a  meadow  enclosed 
by  a  wall,  into  which  likewise  the  old  Soliman  Ben-Zecri,  and 
the  other  fugitives  from  Constantine,  were  admitted,  who  now 
began  to  play  a  more  important  part.  The  weather  continued 
favourable  until  the  evening  of  this  day,  and  the  army  was  in  high 
spirits.  In  this  country,  the  most  harassing  enemy  is  the  rain, 
which  usually  falls  in  prodigious  quantities,  and  always  lasts  for 
several  days.  From  the  Ras-el-Akbah  to  Constantine,  we  had 
uninterruptedly  enjoyed  the  clearest  sky.  By  day  the  sun  was 
oppressively  hot,  the  evenings  and  the  nights  were  fresh,  but 
the  mornings  used  to  be  so  bitingly  cold  that  the  breath  became 
visible,  and  even  our  tent  could  not  protect  us  from  the  frost.  The 
poor  soldiers,  who  had  nothing  whatever  to  protect  them  against 
the  climate,  were  sometimes  obliged  to  lie  close  together,  and  so 
communicate  their  natural  warmth  to  one  another.  My  northern 
complexion  was  less  able  to  bear  the  African  climate  than  those 
of  the  French  soldiers;  my  face  skinned,  and  my  lips  swelled 


320  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

considerably.  On  the  second  day  of  our  march,  I  had  an  attack 
of  fever,  but  M.  Guyon,  the  kind  head-physician  of  the  army, 
immediately  attended  me,  prescribed  quinine,  and  I  recovered. 
"Whilst  the  vanguard  took  its  position  on  the  plateau  of  El-Man- 
surah,  the  left  flank  of  the  baggage-train  was  again  troubled  by 
the  Arabs.  Several  thousand  white  figures  on  swift  horses 
bustled  to  and  fro  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Rumrael :  they 
dashed  forward,  fired  off  their  long  muskets,  and  galloped  back 
again  at  the  quickest  pace.  But  not  one  of  their  bullets  reached 
the  ranks  of  the  convoy  :  they  either  fell  short  of  them,  or  whizzed 
far  off.  Even  the  long  line  of  French  tirailleurs,  which  was 
opposed  to  them,  did  not  lose  a  single  man,  as  far  as  I  could  ascer- 
tain. There  was  little  serious  purpose  in  this  noisy  attack  of  the 
Arabs:  they  fired  from  too  great  a  distance,  and  squandered  away 
thousands  of  their  bullets.  Several  grenades  thrown  against  them 
burst  in  their  midst;  and  it  was  remarkable  to  witness  how  these 
threatening  horsemen  dispersed  in  all  directions.  I  chanced  to 
be  then  riding  with  the  baggage-train,  and  I  had  a  perfect  view 
of  the  sham-fight.  The  train  of  the  army  which  proceeded  close 
to  me,  partly  on  foot,  partly  on  horses,  mules,  and  asses,  did  not 
show  the  slightest  fear  of  the  bullets  that  whizzed  over  our 
heads.  Even  the  vivandieres  (Amazons,  with  sun-burnt  counte- 
nances, several  of  them  very  elegantly  dressed)  broke  forth  in  loud 
cheers  as  often  as  a  well-directed  bomb-shell  drove  the  enemy 
asunder.  Good  humour  prevailed  throughout  the  whole  rear,  and 
French  hon-mots  hit  their  point  much  more  accurately  than  any 
Arab  bullet  hit  its  aim.  The  French  rifles,  according  to  their 
wont,  used  more  powder  than  necessary,  and  their  bullets  had  at 
this  great  distance  likewise  no  effect.  The  fight  therefore  re- 
mained an  empty  demonstration,  but  the  wild  noise  of  the  spectre- 
like riders  offered  an  uncommonly  entertaining  scene. 

Meanwhile  General  Damremont,  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  and 
most  of  the  other  Generals,  had  assembled  on  the  furthest  end  of 
the  plateau  of  El-Mansurah,  there  to  reconnoitre  the  city,  from 
which  they  were  now  separated  only  by  a  deep  precipice.     As 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.         321 

the  El-Mansurah  descends  steeply  from  south-west  to  north-east, 
the  city  cannot  be  perceived  before  one  arrives  at  the  border  of 
the  plateau  which  perpendicularly  looks  down  upon  a  deep  abyss, 
beyond  which  rises  the  rocky  mountain  of  Constantine.  A  small 
natural  intrenchment,  hardly  eight  feet  high,  served  the  specta- 
tors as  a  rampart  against  the  bullets  shot  across  from  the  city.  I 
saw  the  General's  staff  quartered  there,  protected  by  a  company 
of  the  17th  light  infantry.  The  intrenchment  prevented  me  from 
getting  a  view  of  the  city ;  I  alighted  from  my  horse,  and  asked 
Mr.  Berbrugger,  whom  I  just  then  met,  where  a  sight  could  be 
obtained  of  Constantine.  "  There,"  replied  he,  "  where  Captain 
Muralt  stands."  Muralt  stood  at  only  twelve  paces  from  me, 
with  half  his  body  bent  over  the  intrenchment.  I  joined  him,  and 
at  once  beheld  the  remarkable  city  below,  of  whose  wild  and  pe- 
culiar position  hardly  any  correct  notion  can  be  formed.  Our 
point  of  view  was  especially  favourable ;  we  overlooked  Constan- 
tine, so  as  even  to  distinguish  the  separate  streets.  The  gray 
masses  of  the  houses  of  Constantine,  situated  on  the  plateau  of  a 
perpendicular  rock,  rise  araphitheatrically  from  north  to  south. 
The  site  of  this  city  is  higher,  but  far  from  being  so  steep  as  that 
of  Algiers.  Both  cities  are  of  about  equal  size,  but  in  their  aspect 
they  are  strikingly  different.  Though  the  buildings  of  Constan- 
tine are  likewise  in  the  Moorish  style,  with  courts  and  galleries 
within,  yet  they  lack  the  fine  terraces  of  Algiers.  In  their  stead 
we  here  see  roofs  covered  with  bricks,  which,  in  these  southern  re- 
gions, hurt  the  eye.  All  the  houses  are  of  a  dull  grayish  colour, 
like  the  rock  on  which  they  stand.  The  towers  of  the  mosques 
alone  are  white,  and  rise,  ghost-like,  from  among  the  dark  walls, 
like  haantlng-spirits  in  their  shrouds.  The  cypress,  an  immove- 
able, silent  guardian  of  the  tomb,  whose  dark-green  pyramidal 
outline  is  visible  among  the  houses,  well  suits  this  picture  of  death. 
At  the  south-western  end  of  the  tovvn,  the  most  elevated  point  of 
the  rock  is  crowned  by  the  Kasbah,  an  intricate  building  of 
ancient  aspect,  bearing  traces  of  Roman  origin.  Our  arrival  on 
the  El-Mansurah  was  no  sooner  noticed,  than  furious  battle-cries 


322  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

resounded  from  all  the  bastions,  and  announced  the  presence  of  an 
exasperated  enemy.  The  women  had  climbed  upon  the  roofs,  and 
raised  that  melanchol}^,  piercing,  thrilling  cry,  in  which  they  are 
wont  to  express  every  passionate  emotion  of  joy  or  grief,  equally 
heard  at  the  wedding-feast  and  at  the  funeral.  This  time  it  ex- 
pressed their  hatred  of  us,  and  was  meant  to  arouse  the  enthusi- 
asm of  their  champions.  Illumed  by  the  reflection  of  the  evening 
sky,  these  females,  veiled  in  their  white  garments,  looked  quite 
ghastly.  Above  the  gates  Bab-el- Wad  and  Bab-el- Djeddid 
fluttered  defyingly  two  red  flags  of  immense  size.  The  same 
hostile  banners  had  been  raised  on  the  very  same  spots  one  year 
before,  at  the  time  of  Clauzel's  expedition.  The  officers  who  had 
been  present  at  that  first  campaign  found  on  the  whole  that  the 
aspect  of  the  city  was  not  altered;  even  the  Roman  bridge,  which 
was  said  to  have  been  destroyed  by  Ahmet-Bey,  lay  unimpaired 
beneath  us,  and  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  attack  which  Clauzel 
here  attempted,  vividly  remembered  the  scenes  of  the  combat. 
All  the  Arab  villages  far  around  were  in  flames,  lighted  by  the 
Arab  inhabitants  themselves,  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  the  dis- 
tinctly audible  voice  of  the  praying  priest  in  Constantine  wafted 
the  name  of  Mohammed  from  the  spire  of  the  mosques  to  the 
clouds  reddened  by  the  flames.  The  sky  had  already,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  6th  of  October,  become  overcast,  presaging  the  coming 
days  of  rain.  Whoever  has  lived  in  Mohammedan  cities  knows 
the  strange  emotion  caused  by  the  monotonous,  hollow,  but  far- 
sounding  accents  of  the  Muezzin,  calling  to  prayer  from  the 
minaret  aloft,  in  the  evening  twilight.  When  in  Algiers,  from 
the  terrace  of  my  house,  I  watched  the  parting  sun,  and  was 
called  from  my  reverie  by  the  earnest  call  of  the  Muezzin,  I  often 
fancied  I  heard  the  dirge  of  the  sinking  orb.  But  here,  this  call 
seemed  rather  like  the  voice  of  a  conjurer,  summoning  the  dark 
powers  to  assistance  and  vengeance.  The  groups  of  generals, 
and  of  the  officers  of  their  suite,  stood  assembled  in  deep  silence 
at  the  brink  of  the  abyss.  All  eyes  were  turned,  as  by  magic, 
upon  the  ghastly  city.    "  This  is  the  residence  of  the  d 1!"  sud- 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  323 

denly  exclaimed  the  Prince  of  the  Moskwa,  interrupting  the  general 
silence.  An  involuntary  shudder  thrilled  through  everybody,  and, 
with  more  than  one  of  the  persons  then  present,  it  proved  the  pre- 
sentiment of  death.  I  think,  all  who  shared  that  first  sight  of 
the  old  Numidian  city  of  the  rock  will  never  forget  the  awfully 
solemn  impression.  We  were  roused  from  our  meditations  by 
the  hissing  of  shot.  All  the  batteries  of  the  city,  on  the  Kasbah 
and  at  the  gates  Bab-el- Djeddid  and  Bab-el-Kantara,  opened  a 
violent  fire  against  the  plateau.  One  of  the  cannon-balls  flew 
between  General  Damremont  and  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  just 
through  the  narrow  space  which  intervened  between  them.  A 
few  minutes  afterwards,  a  bomb- shell  struck  the  earth  at  hardly 
thirty  paces  behind  them,  and  burst  with  great  noise,  but  without 
injuring  any  one.  The  old  General  Yalee,  commander  of  the 
artillery,  gazed  at  the  city  with  a  doubtful  glance,  and  I  heard 
him  say:  "I  am  astonished  at  the  courage  of  Marshal  Clauzel, 
who  dared  to  attack  such  a  city  with  six- pounders  :  indeed  we 
have  need  here  of  all  our  means  to  win  our  way."  For  the  spec- 
tators who  were  not  bound  by  military  duty  to  remain  on  the  spot, 
it  was  most  uncomfortable  to  tarry  here,  where,  besides  the  heavy 
cannon-balls,  the  bullets  of  numberless  rampart-rifles  whizzed 
around.  I  looked  about  for  General  Damremont.  He  did  not,  as 
the  rest,  stand  behind  the  intrenchment,  where  we  were  covered 
at  least  up  to  the  breast;  but  he  exposed  himself  on  the  eleva- 
tion, where  his  whole  bulky  figure  offered  a  mark  to  the  hostile 
artillery.  A  telescope  in  his  hand,  he  long  gazed  with  great 
composure,  thoughtfully  bending  down  towards  the  city.  He 
here  lost  precious  time :  the  weather  was  yet  favourable,  and  the 
soil  dry.  With  more  energetic  measures,  several  batteries  might 
yet  on  this  very  day  have  been  set  up  on  El-Mansurah,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  heavy  artillery  might  have  been  carried  up  the 
mountain  Kudiat-Ati.  The  enemy  now  attempted  a  feeble  sally. 
Several  hundred  men  approached  from  the  direction  of  the  Roman 
bridge,  but  they  were  easily  repelled  by  some  platoons  of  the 
second  light  infantry  regiment,  and  of  the  Zuaveg,     Puring  the 


324  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

evening,  the  third  and  fourth  brigade  passed  the  Rummel  and  took 
possession  of  the  elevation  Kudiat- Ati,  at  the  moment  when  a  heavy 
rain  began  to  fall,  which  lasted  for  five  whole  days,  almost  without 
intermission.  The  passage  was  very  difficult :  the  bed  of  the 
Rummel  was  filled  with  large  stones,  and  the  mountain  was  steep 
and  slippery.  Two  of  the  enemy's  batteries  commanded  the  river 
and  killed  several  of  our  men,  among  them  one  of  the  aide- de- 
camps of  Lieutenant- General  Fleury,  who  was  torn  in  two  by  a 
cannon-ball.  The  Generals  Rulhi^res  and  Fleury,  to  encourage 
their  soldiers,  rode  to  the  head  of  the  very  difficult  path,  whilst  the 
wind  blinded  them  with  rain.  Two  battalions  posted  themselves 
between  the  tombs  which  cover  Ivudiat-Ati. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  the  garrison  made  a  bolder  sally.  In  the 
direction  of  El-Mansurah,  they  soon  retreated,  but  on  the  Kudiat- 
Ati,  from  seven  to  eight  hundred  men,  amongst  whose  leaders  we 
distinguished  Turks  and  Kuruglis  in  magnificent  garments,  ex- 
changed a  long  and  obstinate  fire  with  the  Foreign  Legion  and  the 
third  African  battalion.  It  was  only  when  the  French  attacked  the 
enemy  with  the  bayonet,  that  they  fled.  Their  retreat  was  covered 
by  the  musket-fire  from  the  city.  At  the  same  time,  about  three 
thousand  horsemen  descended  from  the  mountains  east  and  north 
of  the  Kudiat- Ati,  where  the  Arabs  encamped,  to  attack  the  two 
brigades  in  the  rear  and  in  the  flank.  I  perfectly  distinguished 
these  grand  scenes  of  war  from  the  mountain  El-Mansurah,  where 
I  had  tarried  with  the  staff  of  the  Governor.  These  barbaric 
cavaliers  galloped  with  terrifying  noise  against  the  French 
lines.  All  the  declivities  and  valleys  behind  Kudiat- Ati  were 
covered  with  crowds  of  white,  long-bearded  figures,  on  gray  horses. 
Troops  less  experienced  than  the  African  corps  would  have  felt 
disheartened  by  the  masses  and  the  noise  of  the  enemy.  But 
the  soldiers,  accustomed  to  Arab  warfare,  well  knew  how  unsub- 
stantial these  demonstrations  are.  The  Chasseurs  d'Afrique 
allowed  the  boldest  of  these  horsemen  to  approach  them  within 
half  gun-shot ;  then  two  squadrons  made  a  furious  charge  on  the 
Arabs,  who  did  not  wait  for  the  shock,  and  took  to  hasty  flight. 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  325 

Some  were  overtaken  and  killed  in  the  fray ;  on  the  other  side, 
some  of  the  boldest  pursuers  paid  for  their  bravery  with  their 
lives,  since  flight  is  a  manoeuvre  of  Arab  warfare,  and  does  not 
demoralize.  The  flying  warrior  is  always  ready  immediately  to 
turn  round  upon  his  enemy,  so  soon  as  be  can  attack  with  advan- 
tage. Amongst  the  killed  was  a  young  non-commissioned  officer 
of  good  family,  whom  his  comrades  greatly  bewailed.  The  Ku- 
diat-Ati,  however,  had  been  cleared  of  the  enemy  by  our  charge  of 
cavalry.  These  howling  Arabs  had  again  retired  to  the  higher 
mountains,  behind  the  colossal  aqueduct,  one  of  the  monuments 
of  ancient  Cirta. 

Constantine  was  defended  by  from  six  to  seven  thousand  armed 
men,  among  whom  were  about  three  thousand  Kabyles,  savage 
people,  ragged  and  fanatical,  who,  roused  by  the  speeches  of  their 
Marabuts, — several  of  whom  were  in  the  pay  of  the  Bey, — had 
come  down  from  their  mountains  to  take  part  against  the  infidels. 
They  had  brought  their  long  muskets  and  yatagans  of  various 
forms,  and  were  emploj^ed  as  sharp-shooters  on  the  ramparts  and 
on  the  foremost  houses,  where  they  proved  useful,  as  they  have  a 
practised  eye  and  a  steady  hand.  But  for  service  in  the  batteries 
they  were  unfit.  The  gunners  were  for  the  most  part  Turks  or 
Kuruglis,  who  had  been  expelled  or  had  withdrawn  from  Algiers, 
and  a  few  French  deserters  and  prisoners,  several  of  the  Foreign 
Legion.  A  German,  Wendclin  Schlosser,  from  Erfurt,  was  artil- 
lery-officer of  the  Bey;  another  renegade.  Send,  from  Dresden, 
rendered  no  small  service  as  gun-smith.  The  number  of  the 
armed  Kuruglis  and  Turks  may  have  amounted  to  two  thousand : 
they  were  the  best  and  bravest  troops  of  the  enemy,  fighting  in 
good  order  and  with  dexterity,  and  always  at  the  head  of  the 
sallies.  The  Moorish  inhabitants,  in  truth,  had  only  been  driven 
by  despair  to  take  up  arms :  they  could  not  be  depended  on  in 
the  struggle.  The  chief  commander  of  the  town  was  Ben-Aissa, 
descended  from  the  Kabyles,  but  in  character  and  habits  he  had 
turned  Turk,  for  he  had  lived  in  Constantine  many  years.  His 
name  was  the  terror  of  the  land.     Unheard-of  cruelties  were  per- 


326  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

petrated  by  his  Razzias.  The  Arabs  dreaded  him  ;  but  he  had 
considerable  influence  with  the  Kabyles,  whom  he  treated  with 
regard,  and  whom  he  often  managed  to  employ  against  rebellious 
Arab  tribes.  Yet  Ben-Aissa  had  not  the  credit  of  personal 
courage.  Under  him  served  the  Kaid-el-Dar  (the  Kaid  of  the 
palace),  a  Kabyle  of  signal  bravery,  restlessly  appealing  to  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  garrison,  and  who  (it  was  said)  in  fact  directed 
the  defence.  In  spite  of  the  boastful  proclamations  which  Ahmet- 
Bey  had  issued  to  all  the  tribes  during  the  last  year,  he  was 
coward  enough  not  to  remain  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  since 
he  by  no  means  was  so  strongly  convinced  of  its  impregnability 
as  he  made  believe  by  his  letters.  He  had  about  three  thousand 
Arab  horsemen,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  infantry,  who 
encamped  east  of  the  city,  close  to  a  large  country-seat,  on  which 
his  pennon  was  raised.  Several  thousand  horsemen  were  stationed 
on  the  heights  round  the  Kudiat-Ati.  Another  Arab  camp  was 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  El-Mansurah.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  exact  number  of  the  enemy  round  the  city  :  I  think,  if  I  esti- 
mate the  whole  force  at  eight  thousand  men,  it  is  rather  too  much 
than  too  little.  The  majority  of  the  horsemen  were  Bedouins  of 
the  Sahara,  led  by  Bu-Asis-ben-Ganah,  Ahmet's  uncle  by  his 
mother.     The  infantry  were  almost  all  Kabyles. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  streams  of  rain  poured  down  incessantly, 
accompanied  by  tempest  and  thunder.  The  artillery  and  the 
engineer  corps,  however,  worked  actively  at  the  batteries  on  El- 
Mansurah,  but  they  could  not  finish  them ;  and  the  bombardment 
announced  for  this  day  could  not  take  place.  The  night  from 
the  8th  to  the  9th  was  a  painful  one.  The  army  slept  in  icy  wet 
and  mud  up  to  the  knees ;  no  fire  would  bum,  and  no  covering 
give  shelter  against  the  pouring  streams  of  rain.  And  these 
sufierings  were  enhanced  by  the  terrors  of  war :  the  batteries  of 
the  city  continued  their  fire,  and  single  bold  enemies  ventured  even 
into  the  midst  of  our  lines.  The  morning  had  scarcely  dawned 
when  the  tirailleurs  of  Constantine  were  seen  on  all  sides.  Our 
muskets,  drenched  by  the  rain  of  the  last  twenty-four  hours, 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.         327 

hung  fire,  and  the  poor  soldiers  had  always  long  to  scrub  and  to 
cleanse  before  a  shot  went  off.  But  the  courage  of  the  French 
proved  unbroken :  wading  in  the  mud,  they  so  boldly  attacked 
the  enemy  with  the  bayonet,  that  they  forced  him  to  retreat  again 
to  the  city.  On  the  9th  of  October,  in  the  morning  at  seven 
o'clock,  the  French  batteries  at  last  opened  their  fire  from  the 
plateau  of  El-Mansurah.  Their  aim  was  to  silence  the  enemy's 
batteries,  to  dismount  his  cannon,  and  to  terrify  the  beleaguered 
city.  General  Damremont  thought  that  the  inhabitants  would 
capitulate  on  the  very  same  day ;  he  certainly  did  not  contem- 
plate making  a  serious  attack  from  El-Mansurah,  as  the  first 
expedition  had  already  given  proof  that  from  this  side  the  storm- 
ing could  not  possibly  succeed.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  artillery 
of  the  Kasbah  and  of  the  gate  El-Kantara  had  ceased  to  play. 
Most  of  the  cannon  there  were  already  disabled,  and  only  from 
Bab-el-Djeddid  did  a  few  pieces  continue,  until  the  evening,  to 
answer  us.  Our  mortars  seemed  to  have  caused  considerable 
damage  even  in  the  quarter  where  alone  the  enemy's  cannon  still 
stood  firm.  The  palace  of  the  Bey  and  the  abode  of  Ben-Aissa 
were  likewise  aimed  at  by  our  guns.  Towards  evening,  the 
French  tried  experiments  with  congreve  rockets.  In  oblique 
lines,  bursting  and  hissing,  and  throwing  a  flaming  light  around, 
those  projectiles  flew  into  the  very  midst  of  the  city ;  but  they 
remained  wholly  ineffectual.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  set  a  stone- 
built  city  like  Constantine  on  fire,  as  the  rockets  meet  here  with 
so  little  inflammable  matter. 

General  Damremont  had  miscalculated  the  courage  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Constantine  :  no  messenger  of  truce  appeared. 
Though  fanaticism  does  not  impart  the  energy  of  action  to  the  na 
tions  of  this  country,  it  gives  them  the  power  of  endurance.  Half 
the  city  might  have  been  destroyed ;  the  inhabitants  would  have 
borne  their  disasters  with  fatalistic  indifference,  without  even 
entertaining  a  thought  of  capitulation.  But  if  the  bombardment 
from  El-Mansurah  did  not  accelerate  the  surrender  of  Constantine, 
it  at  least  aroused  the  moral  energy  of  our  troops,  especially  of 


328 

the  wounded  and  sick,  whose  situation  on  the  swampy  ground 
was  almost  intolerable.  The  moving  fever- hospital  offered  a 
terrible  sight.  Here  lay  several  hundred  patients,  partly  crammed 
on  waggons,  partly  stretched  on  the  soil,  on  which  counter- 
panes were  spread.  But  the  unceasing  rain  had  laid  the  country 
under  water,  the  flannel  covers  were  thoroughly  drenched,  and 
frost  stiffened  the  limbs  of  the  sick.  The  surgeons,  immersed  in 
mud  up  to  the  knee,  in  vain  bestowed  their  care  on  the  sufferers : 
they  were  sufficiently  provided  with  medicines,  but  not  with 
coverings.  In  the  delirium  of  the  fever,  or  in  the  agony  of  death, 
the  thoughts  of  all  the  soldiers  wandered  back  to  France :  they 
pronounced  the  name  of  the  village,  or  the  town  of  their  birth,  or 
some  Christian  names,  probably  belonging  to  their  relatives  or 
beloved  ones  ;  and  they  continued  to  cry  and  to  sigh  until  morn- 
ing, when  they  often  were  drawn  from  the  mud,  lifeless  corpses. 
Every  day  the  physicians  saw  men  dying  who  could  have  been 
saved,  had  it  but  been  possible  to  afford  them  the  shelter  of  a  roof. 
Under  such  circumstances,  the  most  dreadful  necessity  demanded 
the  immediate  erection  of  the  battering-train.  Disease  increased, 
provisions  were  becoming  scanty,  and  the  forage  was  already  ex- 
hausted on  the  10th. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  at  seven  o'clock  p.m.,  one  portion  of  the 
artillery,  destined  for  the  battery-train,  was  conveyed  from  the 
plateau  El-Mansurah  to  the  Kudiat-Ati.  No  one  unacquainted 
with  that  ground  can  form  a  notion  of  the  difficulties  it  presents. 
The  twenty-four  pounders  had  to  be  carried  down  a  steep  declivity 
of  five  hundred  feet,  thence  to  be  conveyed  through  a  torrent 
encumbered  by  huge  stones,  and  then  to  be  dragged  up  a  steep 
mountain;  and  all  this  had  to  be  accomplished  during  night, 
exposed  to  unrelenting  rain,  which  had  rendered  all  the  paths  so 
slippery  that  even  practised  climbers  could  not  get  along  without 
stumbling.  The  Saxon  artillery  officer,  Bernhard,  who  accom- 
panied the  army  as  amateur,  after  having  examined  the  ground, 
pronounced  it  an  impossibility  to  convey  the  heavy  artillery  up 
the  Kudiat-Ati:  yet  the  work  was  accomplished.     Sometimes 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  329 

thirty  to  forty  of  the  strongest  horses  had  to  be  put  to  one  cannon, 
and  a  whole  company  of  soldiers  helped,  dragging  and  pushing 
every  single  piece.  The  passage  across  the  Rummel  was  most 
trying;  here  the  soldiers  worked  for  several  hours  after  midnight, 
standing  deep  in  the  water,  to  get  off  the  heaviest  stones  from  the 
bed  of  the  river.  This  difficult  task  was  to  be  done  during  night, 
to  avoid  the  fire  of  the  garrison.  When  the  morning  approached, 
two  ammunition-waggons  were  yet  standing  in  the  water.  The 
cannonade  and  fire  of  small  arms  began  again  from  the  city,  but 
it  did  not  prevent  the  French  soldiers  from  getting  even  these 
last  stores  up  the  Kudiat-i^ti.  When  all  the  heavy  artillery  had 
been  carried  up  the  mountain,  every  one  felt  astonished  that  this 
labour  could  have  been  achieved :  even  those  who  had  carried 
it  out,  wondered  at  their  own  success;  and  many  could  not  but 
remember  the  expedition  of  the  army  of  Buonaparte  across  the 
Alps.  When  we  saw  the  hardy  soldiers  of  the  47th  regiment,  to 
whom  the  successful  result  of  the  bold  enterprise  was  mainly  due, 
drenched  by  water,  covered  with  mud,  having  scarcely  tasted  food 
for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  calmly  encountering  the  tirailleurs 
of  the  enemy,  every  one  of  us,  and  especially  the  foreign  officers, 
felt  the  highest  admiration. 

On  the  11th,  the  batteries  began  to  play  against  the  walls 
between  the  gates  Bab-el-Uad  and  Bab-el- Djeddid.  Here  is  the 
single  narrow  point  where  it  is  possible  to  batter  a  breach,  as 
here  ends  the  deep  ravine  which  encircles  Constantine  in  every 
other  direction.  Here  the  rock,  no  longer  forming  a  perpen- 
dicular wall,  but  an  elevated  neck  of  land,  offers  a  natural 
connexion  with  the  mountain  Kudiat-Ati.  Without  this  single 
vulnerable  point,  Constantine  would  be  a  second  Gibraltar — a 
city  which  might  possibly  be  destroyed  by  bomb -shells,  but 
which  never  could  be  carried  by  storm. 

The  Governor,  the  Prince,  and  General  Perregaux,  the  chief 
of  the  staff,  whose  active  zeal  had  encouraged  the  soldiers  during 
their  work,  daily  rode  from  El-Mansurah  to  Kudiat-Ati  to  examine 
the  progress  of  the  batteries.     The  communication  between  these 


330  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

two  positions  was  never  interrupted,  but  the  passage  across  the 
Ruramel  always  involved  some  danger,  as  on  one  side  the  fire  of 
the  garrison  commanded  the  river,  and  on  the  hills  at  the  other 
side  numerous  Arabs  lurked,  ever  read}^,  like  the  carrion -bird,  to 
pounce  on  their  prey  whenever  a  single  adventurer  attempted  to 
cross  the  river  within  their  range.  A  soldier  who,  to  get  some 
wood,  had  advanced  a  few  paces  beyond  the  outposts,  was  attacked 
by  some  of  these  horsemen,  and  before  a  musket  could  be  fired  at 
them,  they  had  galloped  off  with  the  head  of  the  Frenchman. 
The  Arab  cavalry  and  the  Kabyle  infantry,  assembled  round  the 
country-seat  of  Ahmet-Bey,  remained  almost  passive  spectators 
of  the  struggle.  The  Kabyles  several  times  approached  the 
French  tirailleurs  at  half-shot  distance,  but  the  attack  was  not 
energetically  supported.  These  hordes  are  too  deficient  in  disci- 
pline to  stand  against  regular  troops.  When  they  noticed  that 
their  fire  had  but  little  effect,  they  left  it  off,  and  during  the  last 
days  they  did  nothing  but  watch  our  movements.  In  the  camp 
of  Ahmet  there  was  likewise  a  great  number  of  Kabyle  women. 
Like  the  ancient  Cimbrian  and  Teuton  females,  they  tried  to  rouse 
the  courage  of  the  warriors  by  their  noisy  exhortations,  applaud- 
ing the  brave  and  chiding  the  cowards. 

The  garrison  of  Constantine  made  a  determined  sally  on  the 
10th  of  October.  Turks  and  Kabyles  stealthily  approached  by  a 
hollow  way,  and  along  the  deep  furrows  of  the  ground,  till  they 
neared  the  batteries.  General  Damremont,  who  was  on  the  spot, 
ordered  the  Foreign  Legion  and  the  "  battalion  d'Afrique"  to 
attack  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  threw  himself  into  the  struggle. 
Many  a  bullet  was  aimed  at  his  person ;  he  was  noticeable  from 
the  feather  in  his  hat,  but  none  touched  him  ;  and  the  enemy  was 
driven  back  into  the  city  with  considerable  loss. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  October,  the  breach  was  already 
so  wide  that  ten  men  could  storm  abreast.  The  Governor  and 
his  suite  were  early  on  the  Kudiat-Ati  to  watch  the  progress  of 
the  breach.  About  eight  o'clock,  he  ordered  the  fire  to  be  dis- 
continued, as  a  messenger  was  expected  back  from  the  city,  who 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  331 

had  been  sent  thither  with  the  summons  to  capitulate.  The 
humane  General  Damremont  had  made  this  last  attempt  to  spare 
blood.  The  messenger  was  a  young  Arab  belonging  to  the  bat- 
talion of  the  Zuaves,  who  had  offered  himself  for  this  mission, 
which  to  many  appeared  dangerous.  When  he  approached  the 
walls  of  the  city,  waving  the  white  flag,  the  sign  of  truce,  the 
garrison  of  Constantine  ceased  firing,  and  let  down  a  rope,  by 
which  they  drew  him  up.  They  detained  him  until  they  had 
again  filled  the  breach  with  woolsacks,  and  then  he  was  despatched 
with  the  following  answer : — "  There  is  in  Constantine  plenty  of 
ammunition  and  provisions :  if  the  French  need  provisions,  we 
can  furnish  them.  We  do  not  know  what  capitulation  means. 
We  shall  defend  our  city  and  our  houses  to  the  last ;  they  shall 
not  become  your  prey  as  long  as  a  single  defender  lives."  When 
this  answer  was  delivered  to  the  General,  he  said :  "  They  are 
brave  men!  Well,  the  struggle  will  be  the  more  glorious  for  us." 
Towards  ten  o'clock,  the  roar  of  cannon  was  again  heard.  The 
twenty-four  pounders  and  the  mortars  fired  in  quick  succession, 
and  soon  cleared  the  piles  of  woolsacks  out  of  the  breach.  The 
echo,  rolling  from  mountain  to  mountain,  carried  the  sound  afar 
to  the  Desert.  General  Damremont,  after  Ijiaving  examined  the 
last  battery,  advanced  imprudently  near  the  slope  of  the  Kudiat- 
Ati,  in  the  direction  of  the  city,  in  order  to  view  with  the  telescope 
the  effect  produced  by  the  fire.  The  bombs  and  the  musket-balls 
whizzing  and  bursting  all  around  him,  did  not  keep  him  back 
from  his  daring  promenade.  General  Rulhi^res  called  his  atten- 
tion to  the  danger.  "  C^est  egaV^  (it  matters  not),  answered 
Damremont  calmly.  But  he  had  to  pay  for  this  constant  defiance 
of  death :  a  twenty- four  pounder  ball  struck  him  lifeless  to  the 
ground;  he  had  hardly  time  to  commend  his  fearless  warrior-soul 
to  his  Lord  with  the  exclamation,  "ilfbn  Dieul"  The  brave 
General  Perregaux  bent  with  deep  grief  over  the  body  of  his 
commander  and  friend,  and  in  the  very  same  moment  his  own 
forehead  was  hit  by  a  musket-bullet,  inflicting  a  deadly  wound. 
General  Rulhi^res  was  wounded  slightly  in  the  left  cheek,  and 


SS2 

his  coat  was  pierced.  The  Duke  of  Nemours  stood  on  the  same 
dangerous  spot,  where  the  bullets  incessantly  whizzed.  His  aides- 
de-camp  vehemently  urged  him  to  retire,  but  he  steadily  refused, 
and  remained  with  the  others  until  the  corpse  of  Damremont  had 
been  removed.  The  young  Prince  manifested  uncommon  courage 
during  the  whole  expedition,  on  every  opportunity.  I  have  seen 
him  in  the  midst  of  the  fiercest  fire,  on  points  where  the  bombs 
struck  the  soil  twice  every  minute.  We  others  did  not  deem  it 
cowardly  to  throw  ourselves  flat  on  the  ground,  that  the  bursting 
pieces  might  not  touch  us ;  but  the  Duke  despised  our  precaution, 
and  walked  amidst  the  shower  of  bullets  with  a  coolness  which 
no  one  could  witness  without  admiration.  After  the  death  of  the 
General-in-Chief,  a  council  of  war  was  assembled,  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  was  entrusted  to  Valee,  Lieutenant- General  of 
the  Artillery,  a  veteran  of  the  times  of  the  Empire,  the  eldest  of 
all  the  generals  present.  The  sad  event  of  Damremont's  death 
was  hardly  talked  of  for  an  hour  among  the  soldiers,  and  was 
soon  quite  forgotten.  The  General  and  the  African  troops  had 
known  one  another  too  little,  so  that  the  loss  of  the  man,  who, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  commanded  a  military  operation  of 
importance,  could  not  leave  a  profound  impression ;  moreover, 
suffering  had  blunted  the  feelings  of  the  army.  Among  the 
0 dicers  were  many  partisans  of  Marshal  Clauzel,  who  did  not 
like  his  successor ;  and  though  they  could  not  suppress  a  passing 
emotion  on  Damremont's  heroic  death,  they  soon  again  talked 
of  him  slightingly,  and  with  cold  indifference.  His  death  cer- 
tainly had  little  influence.  The  storm  of  Constantine  would  not 
have  been  attempted  sooner  if  he  had  lived,  and  it  doubtless 
would  have  had  the  same  result.  A  new  battery  had  been  raised 
on  the  12th,  which  stood  nearer  to  the  city  than  any  other,  and 
therefore  could  aim  with  greater  precision.  The  fire  was  opened 
most  effectually,  and  the  roar  of  the  whole  artillery  blended  into 
such  an  incessant  thunder  that  even  the  invalids  felt  cheered. 
The  army  was  aware  that  on  the  morrow  the  storm  was  to  be 
attempted,  and  these  tidings  greatly  enhanced  the  enthusiasm  of 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.         333 

the  troops.  And  they  certainly  required  such  comfort,  as  they 
had  heen  sorely  tried  in  their  muddy  camps  during  five  nights  of 
pouring  rain.  Their  poor  horses  and  mules  had  got  no  fodder 
since  the  10th  ;  their  rapacious  hunger  often  led  them  to  devour 
each  others'  tails  and  manes.  Hundreds  of  them  fell  every  day, 
and  hosts  of  vultures  preyed  upon  the  carcasses.  Wood  was  like- 
wise scarce ;  the  soldiers  could  hardly  find  some  dry  thistles  to 
prepare  their  scanty  fare.  The  camp  offered  most  distressful 
scenes,  especially  during  the  long  cheerless  nights.  No  fire 
burned :  the  monotony  of  the  howling  wind,  and  the  incessant 
splashing  of  the  rain,  were  only  interrupted  by  the  neighing  of  the 
hungry  horses,  and  the  sighs  of  the  invalids.  Most  fortunately 
the  sky  began  to  brighten  on  the  12th  of  October,  and  with  it  the 
courage  of  the  army.  In  such  a  predicament  alone  it  is  possible 
fully  to  appreciate  the  great  influence  of  the  weather  on  our 
temper.  The  night  of  the  13th  was  brightened  by  the  moon,  and 
the  twenty-four  pounders  continued  to  play.  On  the  following 
morning,  the  sun  rose  on  a  fully  clear  horizon,  and  the  corps  ap- 
pointed to  the  storm  gladly  greeted  the  moment  of  action. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Lamoriciere  commanded  the  first  storming- 
party,  consisting  of  three  hundred  Zuaves,  two  choice  companies 
of  the  second  light  infantry  regiment,  and  forty  sappers.  The 
second  party,  headed  by  the  brave  Colonel  Combes,  was  composed 
of  detachments  of  sappers  of  the  47th  regiment  of  the  line,  of  the 
Foreign  Legion,  and  of  the  2d  and  3d  African  battalions.  The 
third  column  had  been  formed  of  detachments  designated  by  the  lot, 
in  equal  numbers,  from  all  the  four  brigades  :.  it  was  placed  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Corbin.  The  Zuaves  had  approached  the 
breach  within  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  paces  in  a  kind  of  trench, 
where  they  lurked  a  whole  day  and  a  whole  night  waiting  for 
the  signal  of  the  storm.  The  Duke  of  Nemours  had  been  ap- 
pointed commander  of  the  siege :  he  was  at  the  side  of  Lamori- 
ciere. At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Prince  at  last  whis- 
pered to  the  Colonel,  "  Whenever  you  choose.  Colonel."  Lamo- 
riciere wielded  his  sword,  and  exclaiming  with  loud  voice,  "  Up 


834  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREilONT, 

Zuaves! — follow  me!"  he  ran  up  the  breach:  the  signal  for  the 
storm  had  just  been  given  by  the  simultaneous  discharge  of  eight 
cannon.  The  balls  raised  a  thick  cloud  of  dust  all  round  the 
breach,  which  was  to  prevent  the  garrison  from  aiming  at  the 
first  men  who  stormed.  At  this  signal  of  the  guns,  the  music  of 
the  Foreign  Legion  sounded  the  storming-march,  and  all  the 
other  regimental  bands  and  drummers  joined  in  the  chorus.  In 
the  midst  of  this  noise  of  cannon,  drums,  and  trumpets,  the 
Zuaves,  and  the  other  corps  of  the  first  storming-partj,  speedily 
followed  their  Colonel.  At  that  moment,  too,  the  Arabs  and 
Kabyles,  who  were  encamped  on  all  the  mountains  around,  raised 
a  fearful  cry, — so  piercing,  that  they  deafened  even  the  drums  and 
the  trumpets.  This  single,  protracted,  heart-rending  yell  of  five 
thousand  manly  voices,  had  in  the  beginning  a  wild,  warlike 
effect ;  but  it  died  away  in  exhaustion,  with  a  melancholy  vibra- 
tion like  the  breaking  chords  of  a  gigantic  harp.  It  was  the 
death-cry  of  the  "  city  of  the  devil."  An  hour  later,  the  silence 
of  the  tomb  reigned  again,  and  the  French  were  masters  of  Con- 
stantine. 

Arrived  on  the  breach,  the  storming- party  were  surprised  not 
to  find  any  entrance  into  the  city.  A  labyrinth  of  ruins — half- 
crushed  houses  and  streets — prevented  them  from  distinguishing 
whether  they  were  really  in  the  city,  and  no  one  knew  which 
direction  was  to  be  taken;  whilst  the  bullets  whizzed  from  all 
sides,  proclaiming  the  presence  of  the  enemy  amidst  the  ruins. 
The  invisible  marksmen  aimed  especially  at  the  officers,  as  always 
is  the  case  here  in  Africa ;  in  consequence,  one  fourth  of  the  killed 
were  officers.  At  last  the  Zuaves  discovered  the  entrance  to  one 
of  the  strongly  fortified  batteries.  Without  a  single  shot,  they 
rushed  with  the  bayonet  on  the  gurners,  who  calmly  stood  by 
their  guns,  meeting  their  assailants  without  any  attempt  at  flight, 
but  bravely  defending  themselves  to  the  very  last  man.  They 
fell  after  desperate  resistance.  From  thence  the  Zuaves  forced 
their  way  into  a  large  store- house,  and  reached  the  second  bat- 
tery: here  the  gunners  did  not  offer  the  same  resistance;  but 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  335 

after  having  discharged  their  muskets,  most  of  them  fled  by- 
secret  passages.  To  get  over  the  ruins  into  the  streets,  ladders 
had  to  be  used ;  but  the  first  troops  who  penetrated  into  the  town 
proper  w-ere  received  by  a  volley,  and  compelled  to  open  a  path 
with  the  bayonet,  and  to  march  over  corpses.  The  enemy  re- 
treated from  door  to  door,  disputing  every  inch  of  ground.  A 
dwelling  which  had  been  severely  injured  by  our  fire  suddenly 
gave  way,  and  buried  several  privates  and  officers;  among  them 
Commander  Serigny,  of  the  second  light  regiment.  The  unfor- 
tunate man  lay  up  to  his  breast  under  the  ruins  which  had  crushed 
the  lower  part  of  his  body:  he  called  and  cried  for  help;  no  one 
could  afford  it:  he  moaned,  until  entirely  crushed  by  the  weight 
which  had  oppressed  him.  A  few  moments  later,  a  still  more  ter- 
rific scene  took  place.  The  storming  troops  found  themselves 
suddenly  amidst  flames  and  smoke;  their  breath  failed,  their 
senses  vanished,  their  clothes  and  hair  caught  fire,  darkness 
covered  their  sight.  It  was  the  explosion  of  a  large  quantity  of 
powder,  probably  kindled  by  a  musket- shot,  or  some  other  chance. 
The  French  engineers,  to  meet  any  emergency,  had  carried  powder- 
sacks  along  with  them ;  these,  too,  caught  fire,  and  heightened  the 
general  confusion.  Above  forty  soldiers  and  officers  were  crushed 
and  burnt.  They  suffered  a  fearful  death :  most  of  them  met  it 
silently  :  the  heat  and  smoke  stifled  even  their  last  moan. 
Others  lived  a  few  moments  after  the  explosion,  but  their  agony 
was  terrible ;  they  had  lost  their  sight,  and  groped  about  as  if  in 
search  of  the  limbs  and  clothes  of  which  the  fire  had  bereft  them; 
wailing  in  sounds  unlike  any  human  utterance.  Others,  again, 
escaped  with  wounds  more  or  less  severe;  the  skin  of  many  had 
been  torn  oft';  some  had  been  deprived  of  the  use  of  their  eyes. 
The  ground  had  given  way  in  several  spots ;  ruins  of  walls  had 
tumbled  down :  the  explosion  of  that  crater  was  followed  by  an 
awful  pause.  The  inhabitants  of  Constantine  availed  themselves 
of  this  moment  of  uncertainty  and  confusion.  Ragged  Kabyles, 
likewise  blackened  by  powder,  yatagan  in  hand,  might  be  seen 
scrambling  across  the  glowing  and  smoking  ruins,  to  massacre 


336  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

all  those  who  still  breathed  and  suffered  amidst  the  scene  of  de- 
struction and  deadly  struggle.  Several  of  the  crushed  Frenchmen 
roused  themselves  from  under  the  ruins  to  sell  dearly  the  feeble 
remainder  of  their  life.  Some  of  the  savages,  shunning  the  combat 
with  the  half  dead,  preferred  to  vent  their  rage  on  the  corpses. 
They  plunged  the  yatagan  in  the  brave  hearts  beating  no  longer; 
they  tore  the  limbs  off  the  corpses,  and  spearing  them  on  their 
yatagans,  they  triumphantly  paraded  them  through  the  streets,  to 
incite  the  half- discouraged  defenders  of  the  city  to  new  resistance 
by  the  sight  of  the  horrible  trophies. 

In  this  critical  moment,  the  second  storming-party,  led  by 
Colonel  Combes,  arrived  at  the  scene  of  action.  The  soldiers  of 
the  47th  regiment  and  the  Foreign  Legion  supported  the  Zuaves, 
who  had  suffered  severely,  and  Colonel  Combes  took  charge  of 
the  command,  as  Lamorici^re  had  been  wounded  by  the  explosion, 
and  had  lost  his  sight  for  a  time.  The  enemy  had  retired 
behind  a  kind  of  barricade,  which  had  formed  itself  of  ruins  and 
corpses.  From  thence  they  launched  a  murderous  musket- fire 
against  the  French  troops.  Combes  ordered  a  company  of  his 
regiment  to  take  this  barrier  by  storm,  awarding  the  decoration 
of  the  "  Legion  d'Honneur "  to  the  first  who  would  overstep 
it.  The  company  advanced  in  rapid  march,  the  lieutenant 
leaped  over  the  barricade,  but  fell  in  the  same  moment  during  a 
general  volley.  Yet  this  officer  had  not  been  hit,  but  had  only 
fallen  over  the  ruins.  Those  who  stood  behind  him,  however, 
were  wounded,  and  several  killed;  among  them  the  captain  of  the 
company.  Colonel  Combes,  too,  was  mortally  wounded  b}'*  two 
bullets.  He  calmly  and  slowly  left  the  battle-field,  without 
support,  and  returned  to  the  battery,  reporting  the  action  to 
General  Valee  and  the  Duke  of  Nemours.  Neither  his  demeanour 
and  expression,  nor  his  composed  accents,  betrayed  that  he  was  a 
dying  man.  He  retired  to  his  tent,  where  he  expired  a  few  days 
later,  with  the  same  calm  serenity  of  mind.  This  man  possessed 
the  noble  grandeur  which  we  admire  in  the  heroes  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome.    After  Combes  and  Lamorici^re  had  been  dis- 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONST ANTINE.  337 

abled  for  command,  the  soldiers  began  the  strife  in  the  streets  on 
their  own  account,  fighting  their  way  from  house  to  house.  The 
Zuaves  at  last  reached  the  abode  of  Ben-Aissa,  where  the  resist- 
ance was  concentrated.  The  struggle  continued  in  the  galleries 
and  in  the  yard  of  the  house ;  most  of  the  defenders  of  the  place 
fled  by  secret  passages  unknown  to  the  assailants ;  but  several 
Kabyles  died,  arms  in  hand.  A  Negro  woman  likewise  lay  among 
the  corpses :  she  had  been  killed  by  a  musket-ball,  and  held  a 
yatagan  and  a  pistol  yet  in  her  hand.  Ben-Aissa  himself  had 
escaped  to  the  citadel,  but  the  steward  of  the  palace  fell  in  the 
streets,  bravely  fighting.  In  Ben-Aissa' s  abode,  the  soldiers  cap- 
tured a  considerable  store  of  gold  and  treasures.  To  rouse  the 
courage  of  the  inhabitants,  Ben-Aissa  had  distributed  money 
amongst  them  during  the  latter  days  of  the  siege. 

By  the  capture  of  the  centre  of  defence,  the  resistance  in  Con- 
stantino was  broken.  General  Rulhi^res  took  the  command  of 
the  troops.  He  was  leading  them  against  the  citadel  situated  at 
the  outskirt  of  the  city,  when  a  Moor  came  to  meet  him  with  a 
paper  in  his  hand.  It  was  a  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Con- 
stantine,  who  entreated  him  to  spare  the  city,  and  who  tried  to 
exculpate  themselves  by  imputing  to  the  Kabyles  the  stubborn 
resistance.  General  Valee,  to  whom  the  petition  was  communi- 
cated, acceded  to  the  request.  Resistance  ceased ;  some  Kabyles 
only,  before  flying  down  over  the  rocks,  fired  their  muskets  at  the 
soldiers,  who  were  forcing  their  way  into  the  Kasbah.  In  the 
morning,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  tricoloured  flag  replaced  the  red  one 
on  all  the  main  points  of  Constantine. 

From  Kudiat-Ati  we  had  seen  the  storming  columns  climb  up 
the  breach.  They  disappeared  in  the  city,  and  we  remained  in 
painful  expectation  for  one  whole  hour,  which  was  to  decide  the 
success  of  the  expedition,  and  the  safety  of  us  all.  When,  at  nine 
o'clock,  we  saw  the  tricolor  reared  on  the  Kasbah,  we  shouted  with 
exultation,  and  embraced  one  another ;  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  I  felt  the  power  of  the  consciousness  of  victory.     The  Arabs 


338  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

and  Kabyles,  who,  from  the  mountain-tops,  had  gazed  down  on 
the  storming  of  Constantine,  retired  in  silence  when  they  saw  that 
the  red  flag  was  struck.  All  the  curious  idlers,  who  had  remained 
in  camp,  rushed  now  to  see  the  interior  of  that  city  which,  in  the 
short  space  of  a  year,  had  been  the  scene  of  two  catastrophes,  and 
the  gaining  of  which  had  cost  so  many  lives. 

At  the  foot  of  the  breach  I  met  Captain  Levaillant.  He  had 
been  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  storming-party,  but  had  remained 
unhurt ;  he  had  cut  down  several  Kabyles ;  his  countenance  was 
blackened  by  smoke,  his  regimentals  pierced,  and  covered  with 
dust.  We  shook  hands  heartily.  "  Is  Colonel  Lamoriciere  alive?  " 
was  my  first  question.  "  He  lives,"  answered  Levaillant;  "but 
he  fares  as  if  devils  had  taken  a  walk  with  him  through  hell. 
He  is  half  scorched,  and  has  lost  his  sight.  Go  and  visit  him :  he 
has  already  inquired  for  jou  and  your  champagne."  "  And  your 
Zuaves?"  "  Half  of  them  dead  or  wounded :  those  who  escaped 
are  plundering."  "  And  the  inhabitants  of  Constantine — ^how  did 
they  fight?"  "Like  incarnate  fiends;  but  I  have  no  time  for 
talking,  I  must  go  to  my  tent  to  cleanse  me  from  blood  and  mud." 
He  hastened  away :  I  came  to  the  wall. 

The  breach  was  about  thirty  feet  broad.  In  order  to  arrive 
there,  one  had  first  to  climb  an  elevation  of  earth  and  sand. 
Many  wool-sacks  and  stones  lay  strewed  about  the  broken  wall ; 
behind  the  breach  we  saw  ruins  of  houses  destroyed  by  the  explo- 
sion. The  scorched  and  mutilated  corpses  of  African  and  French 
soldiers  lay  here  so  close  together,  that  it  was  impossible  to  enter 
the  city  without  stepping  on  dead  bodies.  I  never  beheld  a  more 
frightful  sight  than  this  breach :  most  of  the  corpses  were  torn 
in  pieces,  some  without  heads;  with  others,  the  features  were 
completely  blackened  by  powder,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  white  European  from  the  brown  Kabyle,  and  even 
from  the  Negro.  In  the  streets,  the  corpses  were  less  disfigured. 
Some  of  the  groups  of  dead  were  very  striking.  The  struggle  had 
been  fought  here  man  to  man,  and  the  fallen  French  soldier  rested 
sometimes  on  the  body  of  his  Kabyle  enemy.     I  can  never  forget 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  339 

the  countenance  of  an  old  Kumgli,  with  a  long  white  beard,  whom 
I  saw  leaning  on  the  corner  of  a  house  in  a  sitting  posture,  with 
eyes  and  mouth  wide  open,  his  left  fist  raised  to  the  skies,  whilst 
his  right  hand  tightly  clasped  a  pistol.  I  thought  the  old  man 
was  alive,  and  was  calling  for  help ;  but  when  I  approached,  I 
saw  that  he  was  a  cold  grim  corpse.  The  fury  of  fanaticism,  and 
sometimes  the  triumph  of  glutted  revenge,  that  so  many  enemies 
had  fallen  around  them,  remained  impressed  on  the  features  of  the 
fallen  Mussulmans. 

Arriving  in  the  town,  over  this  smoking  heap  of  ruins  and 
corpses,  I  met  a  band  of  plunderers,  laden  with  manifold  booty, 
carpets,  burnuses,  arms,  victuals,  and  even  Arab  manuscripts; 
seeking  people  to  buy  them.  In  the  entrance  to  the  first  street,  a 
coffee-house  was  open,  where  pots  of  coffee  stood  yet  on  the  hearth. 
The  Moorish  customers  had  fled,  and  the  French  grenadiers 
emptied  now  the  whole  supply,  jesting  and  happy.  A  long  row 
of  Moorish  and  Jewish  shops  was  already  entirely  plundered; 
the  soldiers  of  the  Foreign  Legion  busied  themselves  here  much 
more  than  they  had  done  at  the  storm ;  but  the  inhabitants  were 
not  injured  personally,  from  the  very  moment  that  the  struggle 
had  ceased.  They  stood  trembling,  without  complaint  or  protes- 
tation, gazing  at  the  plunderers  of  their  property.  The  Jews 
humbly  kissed  the  hands  of  the  soldiers,  who  seemed  to  be  greatly 
amused  by  such  submission.  On  the  whole,  the  officers  did  not 
interfere  with  the  plundering,  though  they  did  not  positively  allow 
it ;  yet  it  would  have  been  difficult,  even  with  the  best  disciplined 
troops,  to  hinder  such  scenes  in  a  city  taken  by  storm,  after  so 
many  privations.  I  saw,  however,  at  least  one  officer  who  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  in  protecting  the  property  of  the  ill-fated 
population  of  Constantine  from  the  rapacity  of  the  soldiers.  It 
was  Lieutenant  Chardon  of  the  Engineers,  a  brave  young  officer, 
of  the  noblest  character.  At  one  of  the  street-corners,  two  blind 
Moors  were  sitting,  who,  not  aware  of  what  had  happened,  or  at 
least  feigning  not  to  know  it,  stretched  out  their  hands  and  begged 
for  bread.     "  Is  it  not  too  bad,"  exclaimed  a  soldier,  laughingly; 


340  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

"  those  rogues  beg  bread  from  us ! "  "  Poor  fellows,"  said  Char- 
don,  "they have  no  one  now  to  give  them  bread  besides  us; "  and 
he  went  seeking  among  his  soldiers,  till  he  found  some  victuals  for 
the  beggars. 

Having  satisfied  my  first  curiosity,  I  rode  back  to  our  camp  on 
El-Mansurah,  where  Muralt  arrived  immediately  after  me,  and  we 
were  soon  busy  in  breaking  up  our  tent  and  packing  it  on  the  back 
of  our  asses.  Muralt  was  excited;  he  had  entered  the  city  during 
the  struggle,  and  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  capture  one  of  the 
red  flags  which  had  floated  on  the  wall.  On  his  subsequent  visit 
to  France,  he  presented  it  to  the  Queen  of  the  French  as  a  remem- 
brance of  that  memorable  day. 

We  proceeded  with  our  horses  and  asses  to  the  Kudiat-Ati,  but 
were  unable  then  to  enter  the  city,  as  the  gates  were  opened  only 
late  in  the  evening,  and  nearer  access  was  cut  off  by  the  long 
file  of  troops  and  their  baggage.  We  slept  once  more  in  the 
open  air  close  to  the  gates ;  the  night  was  dark  and  wet,  and  the 
poor  wounded  and  invalids  on  the  waggons,  which  could  not  enter, 
moaned  all  the  night.  Overwhelmed  by  weariness,  I  fell  asleep, 
and  awoke  only  when  a  horse  had  broken  loose,  and  caused  in- 
describable confusion  among  the  troops  which  were  bivouacking 
around  us.  The  swearing  and  cursing  of  the  soldiers,  the  yells 
of  the  female  sutlers,  who  thought  that  their  cheese  and  wine  were 
in  danger,  the  moaning  of  the  wounded,  and  the  painful  brawl  of 
the  hungry  mules  and  asses,  formed  a  most  dreadful  concert.  My 
friend  Muralt  remained  awake  all  the  night,  in  order  to  help  and 
comfort  the  sick.  He  complained  much  of  the  want  of  feeling  in 
the  French  soldiers,  who  did  not  care  for  their  wounded  com- 
panions, and  thought  only  of  booty. 

At  dawn  we  entered  the  city,  and  without  further  ceremony 
occupied  a  house,  whose  inhabitants,  with  the  exception  of  an  old 
woman,  had  all  fled.  Though  it  had  been  plundered,  the  house  yet 
contained  victuals  in  abundance.  We  brought  our  horses  and  asses 
into  the  well-filled  barley-store,  where  the  emaciated  beasts  enjoyed 
themselves  so  much,  that  we  had  to  remove  the  fodder  for  fear 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  341 

they  should  feed  themselves  to  death.  Several  rooms  were  filled 
with  bags  of  flour,  kegs  of  butter,  salt  meat,  honey,  and  fruit, 
especially  pomegranates,  larger  in  size  and  sweeter  than  I  ever 
had  tasted  before.  After  having  lived  on  short  allowance  for  a 
fortnight,  we  found  all  this  supply  very  acceptable.  Our  old 
Moorish  landlady  seemed  in  the  beginning  very  much  alarmed 
about  her  boarders  ;  we  tried  to  comfort  her,  and  treated  her  with 
the  products  of  our  cooking,  especially  the  coffee,  which  was  our 
own  property,  and  of  which  she  seemed  very  fond.  As  often  as 
we  brought  it  to  her,  she  always  blessed  us,  and  lauded  the 
humanity  of  the  Christians  to  her  old  kinsman,  who  often  paid  her 
visits.  He  seemed  to  be  a  hardened  fanatic  ;  but  the  intercourse 
with  the  Christians  had  gradually  such  an  influence  on  his  temper, 
that  once  he  brought  us  Moorish  cakes  as  tokens  of  his  afl"ection. 

We  left  the  ground-floor  to  our  landlady,  and  took  up  our  quar- 
ters in  the  first  storey,  where  we  found  excellent  carpets  and  mat- 
tresses. We  soon  got  a  new  inmate  in  the  house,  namely.  Captain 
Russel,  an  Irishman,  in  the  Austrian  service ;  and,  as  our  house 
was  so  richly  stored,  it  attracted  some  more  visitors.  The  Saxon, 
Lieutenant  Bernhard,  became  our  daily  guest  at  dinner,  and  the 
Moorish  rooms  were  often  filled  with  gay  foreign  company.  But 
we  were  several  times  disturbed  by  plunderers,  who  broke  into 
the  house,  and  could  scarcely  be  restrained  by  the  sight  of  the 
regimentals  of  my  friends  from  carrying  away  whatever  they 
found.  Once  I  had  really  to  threaten  two  soldiers  of  the  African 
battalion  with  the  pistol,  when  they  were  about  to  rob  me  of  my 
own  horse-gear. 

The  day  after  our  entry,  we  visited  the  citadel.  I  saw  the  re- 
maining inhabitants  sitting  before  the  doors  of  their  houses,  and 
conversing  quietly  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  The  plundering 
was  yet  going  on;  it  lasted  for  three  days;  but  the  soldiers 
became  by  and  by  less  rapacious,  sparing  the  inhabited  houses, 
and  rifling  only  the  empty  ones.  The  Jews,  always  oppressed 
by  the  men  of  Constantino,  aided  them  in  this  business  ;  and  as 
they  knew  the  localities,  and  were  acquainted  with  the  places 


342  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

where  booty  could  be  found,  they  stole  the  most  valuable  things 
in  advance  of  the  soldiers,  and  in  this  way  took  revenge  on  their 
former  tyrants. 

The  Kasbah,  or  citadel,  is  of  Roman  origin.  As  the  strongest 
batteries  of  Ahmet-Bey  had  been  posted  here,  it  was  the  peculiar 
aim  of  the  French  shells  for  several  days.  The  missiles  had 
made  a  dreadful  havoc,  yet  the  Roman  walls  stood  out ;  though 
pierced  by  the  balls,  they  did  not  tumble  down.  The  citadel  is 
built  on  the  extreme  edge  of  a  precipice.  The  rocks  beneath  are 
nearly  vertical,  and  only  one  path  is  practicable  for  men  skilled  in 
climbing.  Yet  many  of  the  ill-fated  inhabitants  tried  to  escape 
this  way :  some  succeeded  in  descending  on  ropes  ;  but  others 
were  hurled  down  by  the  crowd  pressing  behind  on  that  danger- 
ous spot,  and  were  crushed  or  maimed  by  the  fall.  Whoever 
had  taken  that  direction  could  no  longer  return,  as  the  enemy 
was  raging  in  the  rear,  and  the  stream  of  the  fugitives  rolled  on. 
The  confusion  was  yet  heightened  by  the  musket-fire  of  the  17th 
infantry  regiment,  which  stood  on  the  opposite  rock,  and  shot 
down  the  flying  multitude.  Above  five  hundred  men  lost  their 
lives.  But  in  spite  of  the  relentless  fire  of  the  French,  the 
people  of  Constantine  carried  away  their  dead ;  only  on  some 
inaccessible  projections  of  the  rock  there  remained  a  few  corpses. 
On  one  of  these  projections,  nearly  in  mid- air,  we  saw  a  female 
lying,  who  had  broken  her  leg ;  and  a  babe,  which  had  remained 
unhurt.  My  friend  Muralt  summoned  the  French  soldiers  to 
make  an  effort  to  save  the  unfortunate  woman,  and  promised  a 
reward  to  those  who  should  reach  her.  A  Zuave,  who  spoke 
Arabic,  succeeded  after  several  attempts  ;  but  the  Mooress  re- 
fused any  help  from  Christians,  and  declared  she  wished  to  die 
on  that  spot  with  her  infant.  She  only  requested  a  jug  of  water, 
which  was  handed  down  to  her  by  a  rope.  She  first  gave  her 
child  to  drink,  drank  herself,  and  then  threw  the  jug  into  the 
abyss.  I  do  not  know  what  became  of  her.  Next  day  she  had 
disappeared,  together  with  her  child.  The  same  spot  where  so 
many  inhabitants  of  Constantine  perished,  served,  under  the  Beys, 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  343 

as  a  place  of  punishment  for  faithless  females,  who  were  hurled 
down  the  cliffs,  according  to  an  old  custom  which  we  can  trace 
even  to  the  times  of  the  Vandals.* 

One  of  our  first  visite  was  to  the  palace  of  Ahmet- Bey.  The 
Duke  of  Nemours  and  General  Valee  had  taken  possession  of  it : 
the  French  head- quarters  were  established  there.  The  garden 
contained  a  lion-yard,  where  twelve  of  these  majestic  animals 
were  in  chains  ;  their  keeper  was  Wendelin  Schlosser,  a  German 
renegade,  from  Erfurt.  An  adjoining  wing  of  the  palace  con- 
tained the  harem  of  the  Bey,  occupied  by  about  eighty  females  ; 
but  amongst  them  there  was  only  one  really  beautiful  person, 
Aisha.  According  to  her  recollection,  she  was  of  Christian  ex- 
traction, and  had  been  brought  by  the  Corsairs,  in  her  early 
youth,  to  Tunis.  But  the  cut  of  her  face  was  Oriental :  Hack 
hair,  a  rosy  complexion,  a  Greek  nose,  and  such  a  majestic  de- 
portment, that  even  without  the  superior  richness  of  her  attire, 
she  was  distinguished  from  among  the  other  females  at  the  first 
glance.  This  queen  of  the  harem  was  soon  reconciled  to  her 
altered  condition,  and  received  the  new  inhabitants  of  the  palace 
as  noble  guests.  She  gave  a  ball  in  their  honour,  in  which  all  the 
harem  took  part.  In  the  large  marble  hall,  the  females  performed 
their  dances  beneath  the  light  of  lamps,  and  in  the  presence  of 
the  French  officers  of  the  staff.  These  females  were,  of  course, 
treated  with  great  respect,  and  nobody  was  allowed  to  intrude  on 
their  abode.  Once  only  an  indiscreet  officer  entered  their  rooms  ; 
but  the  females  rushed  with  dishevelled  hair  to  the  Prince,  com- 
plaining of  the  outrage,  and  the  Prince  immediately  gave  orders 
to  turn  out  the  intruder. 

The  dwelling  of  Ben- Aissa,  the  Vicegerent,  was  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  palace  of  the  Bey.  It  was  much  smaller,  and 
devoid  of  architectural  ornaments ;  but  much  cash  and  many  jewels 
had  been  found  here.  A  Zuave  had  the  good  luck  to  make  a  booty 
of  10,000  boojoos  (£800)  :  thus  he  at  once  became  a  wealthy 

*  Victoris  Viterbensis  Historia  de  Persecutione  Vandalorum,  Lib.  iv. 


344  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT, 

man,  and  did  not  fancy  the  drill  and  service  any  longer.  He 
was  a  native,  and  got  his  dismissal,  married  afterwards  in  Con- 
stantine,  and  yet  lives  there.  I  found  my  colleagues  of  the 
Scientific  Commission  quartered  in  the  house  of  Ben- Aissa ;  but 
they  were  far  from  being  as  well  satisfied  as  we  were  in  our  well- 
stored  little  house.  Dr.  Laporte  was  in  bad  temper:  he  had 
accompanied  the  expedition,  in  order  to  analyze  chemically  the 
water  of  the  hot  springs  of  Hammam-Meskhutin ;  but  he  could 
not  get  an  escort  to  that  place,  and  the  mule  which  had  carried 
his  bottles  stumbled  on  the  rocky  path,  and  broke  them.  My 
friend  Berbrugger  was  busy  buying  Arabic  manuscripts  from  the 
plundering  soldiers,  for  the  library  of  Algiers,  of  which  he  was 
the  keeper.  Some  of  them  were  valuable,  especially  the  collec- 
tion of  the  laws  of  the  Kadis,  and  the  "  History  of  the  City  of 
Constantine."  But  many  of  the  manuscripts  were  lost  on  the 
return.  The  soldiers  of  the  train  did  not  care  for  scientific  trea- 
sures, and  threw  some  of  the  heavy  book-chests  from  the  waggon, 
where  they  stuck  in  the  mud.  I  hope  they  were  found  by  the 
Arabs,  and  think  that  they  were  more  in  place  in  the  hermitages 
of  the  Marabuts,  than  in  the  hall  of  the  Algiers  Library.  There 
are  but  very  few  books  in  the  Regency  of  Algiers,  and  therefore 
they  are  real  treasures.  It  is  rare  that  a  Moorish  family  has 
more  than  one  book,  and  it  is  the  common  property  of  all  the 
family.  With  the  four  or  five  hundred  manuscripts  carried  to 
Algiers  in  order  to  fill  the  dusty  shelves  of  the  library,  at  least 
as  many  Moorish  families  were  deprived  of  their  instruction  and 
comfort. 

It  was  reported  that  Ben- Aissa  had  buried  much  money  in  his 
house.  Of  course  each  of  us  wished  to  find  the  treasure.  But 
where  could  it  be  found?  The  building  was  large,  and  we 
had  no  clue  to  any  spot  where  to  search.  But  suddenly  we  found 
a  person  who  could  give  us  some  hint.  Among  the  drinking 
soldiers  of  the  Foreign  Legion,  Muralt  remarked  one,  a  pale  man 
with  fair  beard,  in  Moorish  attire,  who  spoke  German.  Had  his 
language  not  betrayed  his  extraction,  his  drinking  would  have 


AMD  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  345 

done  so  ;  since  he  swallowed  sucli  quantities  of  brandy  as  only  a 
Northern  man  or  an  Anglo-Saxon  can  afford  to  take.  Muralt 
heard  that  he  was  a  renegade,  who  had  lived  for  a  considerable 
time  in  Constantine,  and  immediately  invited  him  to  our  house, 
where  he  gave  us  a  rather  confused  account  of  his  adventures,  for 
the  brandy  had  disturbed  his  logic. 

His  name  was  Send;  he  was  a  native  of  Dresden,  had  served 
in  the  Foreign  Legion,  and  had  been  captured  by  the  Bedouins, 
carried  to  a  Marabut  on  the  Jurjura,  and  converted  by  him  to 
Islam.  He  lived  there  for  a  time,  was  well  treated,  and  enjoj^ed 
a  good  deal  of  liberty.  But  when  Ahmet-Bey  had  heard  about 
him,  and  learned  that  he  w^as  a  gunsmith  by  trade,  he  requested  the 
Marabut  to  let  him  have  the  renegade.  The  old  Marabut,  who 
had  grown  fond  of  him,  dismissed  him  with  tears,  but  assured  him 
that  he  would  meet  with  a  much  brighter  life  at  Constantine  than 
he  could  offer  him.  In  fact,  Ahmet  treated  him  kindly ;  he  gave 
him  a  house,  a  wife,  and  the  means  of  establishing  a  work-shop. 
But  he  soon  made  too  high  exactions  of  Send,  and  forced  him  to 
work  until  exhausted ;  and  when  the  guns  were  not  ready  in  time, 
he  had  him  bastinadoed.  In  the  defence  of  Constantine,  Send 
had  a  principal  part,  being  one  of  the  commanders  of  the  batteries. 
When  the  French  opened  their  fire  against  the  walls  from  Kudiat- 
Ati,  Send  declared  that  the  city  was  lost.  The  fanatical  inhabit- 
ants became  so  furious  at  this  opinion,  that  they  put  him  in 
chains,  and  dragged  him  to  the  place  of  execution ;  but  the  Mayor 
of  the  town,  a  secret  friend  to  the  French,  saved  his  life.  Send's 
house  was  plundered  by  the  French  soldiers,  like  the  other 
houses;  and  the  poor  man,  together  with  his  wife  and  child,  had 
nothing  to  eat.  But  it  was  characteristic,  that  this  German,  who 
had  lost  nearly  all  his  property,  spent  immediately  the  few  piasters 
he  had  in  his  pocket  in  order  to  get  drunk,  after  he  had  been 
obliged  for  many  years  to  forego  his  beloved  brandy. 

This  renegade  had  been  often  employed  by  Ben- Aissa,  and  had 
at  one  time  the  direction  of  the  mint.  "We  asked  him,  therefore, 
whether  he  would  not  give  us  some  information  about  the  hidden 


346 

treasures.  He  led  us  to  a  small  room  on  the  ground-floor,  and 
said  that  Ben-Aissa  bad  here  secretly  employed  two  Negroes  in 
digging,  whom  he  had  afterwards  beheaded,  to  keep  the  secret 
safe.  We  immediately  fetched  spades  and  hoes,  and  dug  until 
we  got  tired;  but  the  treasure  did  not  appear.  The  servants 
stealthily  continued  the  digging  for  another  day,  and  found  a 
number  of  silver  coin.  Though  they  concealed  their  good  luck, 
yet  it  got  abroad,  and  the  military  authorities  occupied  the  house. 
Soon  after  our  departure,  the  diggings  were  continued,  and  the 
house  destroyed.  It  is  said  that  above  one  hundred  thousand 
Spanish  dollars  were  found  here,  though  no  official  report  was 
ever  made  about  it, 

I  got  tidings  about  Colonel  liamorici^re  from  ray  friend  Ber- 
brugger.  All  the  army  manifested  the  greatest  sympathy  for 
that  gallant  officer,  when  it  was  feared  he  would  not  recover  his 
sight.  He  bore  his  pains  without  complaint,  was  in  high  spirits, 
and  remembered  our  wager  immediately  after  his  mishap.  Ho 
never  had  been  nearer  death.  Scorched  and  blinded  by  the  ex- 
plosion, he  fell  into  a  hole,  and  was  nearly  killed  by  the  bursting 
walls ;  some  of  his  soldiers,  however,  arrived  in  time  to  extri- 
cate him  from  among  the  ruins.  The  excellent  Colonel  Combes 
died  on  the  15th.  He  retained  his  consciousness  up  to  the  last 
moment,  and  said  to  the  Duke  of  Nemours, — "  I  do  not  commend 
my  wife  to  you:  she  has  enough  to  live  upon;  but  I  commend  to 
you  my  children,  the  soldiers  of  my  regiment."  To  his  com- 
panions, who  stood  mourning  at  his  death-bed,  he  said, — "  Those 
who  survive  may  be  happy  of  such  success :  I  likewise  am 
happy  to  have  been  able  to  do  at  least  something  for  France." 
The  Colonel  was  buried  on  the  Kudiat-Ati;  his  heart  was  em- 
balmed and  carried  to  France :  it  has  since  been  deposited  under 
the  monument  erected  to  him  in  his  native  town.  The  army  lost 
in  him  one  of  its  best  leaders,  and  France  one  of  her  noblest 
citizens.  I  do  not  remember  any  case  in  which  the  sympathies 
of  so  many  have  been  more  heartily  united,  than  at  the  death  of 
the  high-minded  Combes. 


AND  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  CONSTANTINE.  347 

Once  only  I  saw  Colonel  Duvivler  after  the  storm ;  he  seemed 
depressed,  as  though  his  feelings  had  been  intentionally  hurt. 
He  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  talented  officer  of  the 
army;  but  during  this  expedition,  he  had  not  got  any  command  of 
importance.  He  was  employed  at  the  rear-guard ;  the  reason  was 
that  Duvivier  was  a  partisan  of  Clauzel,  and  Damremont  had 
therefore  a  personal  dislike  to  him.  In  the  first  expedition,  he 
had  had  the  command  of  the  attack  on  the  gate  Bab-el- Djeddid, 
and  was  now  grieved  that  he  had  not  got  such  a  dangerous  post, 
where  he  could  have  reaped  either  honour  or  death. 

The  hospital  was  established  in  one  of  the  most  extensive 
Moorish  houses.  The  poor  wounded  lay  there  on  the  marble 
floor  of  the  halls  and  galleries.  It  was  an  awful  sight  those 
numbers  of  deadly  pale  and  scorched  features,  those  mangled 
bodies,  those  amputations  and  dressings  of  the  wounds,  those 
piercing  shrieks  of  the  patients,  the  moaning  and  the  dying.  I 
never  could  stand  it  for  any  length  of  time,  but  I  often  returned 
to  visit  our  poor  wounded  friends.  Captain  Richepanse  excited 
peculiar  sympathy ;  he  had  accompanied  the  expedition  as  volun- 
teer, to  revenge  the  death  of  his  brother,  who  had  fallen  in  the 
first  expedition.  Richepanse  was  in  the  forlorn  hope,  and  was 
yet  more  severely  scorched  than  Lamoriciere;  but  he  likewise  got 
restored  to  health. 

On  the  17  th,  the  reserve,  under  Colonel  Bernelle,  arrived  from 
Mejez- Ammar,  and  with  it  Prince  Joinville.  The  meeting  of  the 
two  princely  brothers  was  warm  and  touching.  Joinville  is  more 
muscular  and  taller  than  his  brother;  he  looks  like  an  honest  tar; 
but  his  features  are  noble,  like  those  of  all  the  princes  of  the 
younger  French  house.  He  took  up  his  quarters  in  the  palace  of 
the  Bey,  with  three  Prussian  officers,  who,  though  they  arrived 
only  after  the  storm,  yet  were  all  decorated  with  the  cross  of  the 
Legion  d'Honneur  by  French  courtesy. 

Next  day  the  army  was  assembled  at  the  breach,  outside  the 
city,  in  honour  of  their  fallen  General.  Damremont's  corpse  had 
been  embalmed,  and  was  to  be  carried  to  France.     The  obsequies 


348        THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  DAMREMONT,  ETC. 

were  very  simple;  but  the  recollections  of  the  place — between  the 
gory  breach,  surmounted  by  the  triumphant  tricolor,  and  the  spot 
where  the  General  had  met  his  heroic  death ;  and  the  presence  of 
the  most  gallant  soldiers,  and  the  brave  officers,  who  had  endured 
such  trials,  and  displayed  such  courage  at  the  siege — made  the 
scene  most  impressive.  The  ceremony  consisted  in  the  defiling 
of  the  army  before  the  catafalco^  and  a  general  discharge  over 
the  tomb.  Both  princes,  General  Valee,  and  the  numerous  staff, 
were  present;  and  groups  of  natives  gathered  around  them,  and 
gazed  with  amazement  on  the  spectacle.  I  cannot  say  that  the 
soldiers  displayed  much  sorrow.  After  so  much  endurance  and 
so  many  scenes  of  blood,  they  appeared  indifferent.  There  was  no 
other  funeral  ceremony;  no  speech  was  made;  only  the  muskets 
thundered  their  last  farewell.  But  the  sky  had  suddenly  cleared 
up:  it  seemed  as  if  the  sun,  which  had  seen  the  death  of  the 
General,  wished  once  more  to  greet  his  corpse  with  its  rays, 
illuming  the  bald  tops  of  the  Atlas,  where  here  and  there 
scattered  bands  of  Kabyles  were  yet  encamped,  gazing  with 
curiosity  on  the  obsequies  of  the  conqueror  of  Constantine. 

The  first  column  returned  on  the  20th  to  Bona :  Muralt  and  I 
accompanied  it.  We  had  nothing  more  to  see  in  Constantine, 
especially  as  the  cholera  began  to  rage  in  the  army  :  a  few  days 
after  our  departure,  General  Caraman  fell  a  victim  to  that  disease. 
"VYe  made  short  stages  on  our  journey,  in  which  we  were  followed 
by  a  band  of  dogs.  It  was  curious  that  these  animals  left  their 
former  dwellings,  and  followed  the  for-eigners  without  any  osten- 
sible reason,  as  the  French  soldiers  were  not  just  in  a  temper  to 
share  their  scanty  provisions  with  such  rapacious  guests.  The 
dogs  often  turned  round,  and  barked  and  whined  most  pitifully,  as 
if  prophesying  some  further  misfortune  to  the  ill-fated  city. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE.  349 

CHAPTER  VII. 

TnE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

The  conquest  of  Constantine  had  been  achieved  without  any  im- 
portant aid  from  the  natives.  Farhad-ben-Said,  the  late  Sheikh-el- 
Arab  of  the  tribes  of  the  Desert,  who  had  been  deposed  by  Ahmet, 
had  formerly  urged  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  and  Marshal  Clauzel  to 
undertake  an  expedition  against  Constantine.  In  fact,  he  pro- 
mised thousands  of  Arab  horsemen  as  auxiliaries,  yet  did  not 
appear  at  the  trysting-place,  Mejez-Ammar.  But  scarcely  had 
the  city  been  taken,  when  he  arrived  at  the  head  of  some  four 
hundred  ragged  Bedouins,  and  claimed  his  share  of  the  spoils. 
General  Valee  asked  him  why  he  had  not  taken  part  in  the 
straggle?  and  Farhad  replied  cunningly,  "  Had  I  arrived 
before  Constantine  was  taken,  people  would  have  said  that  you 
were  victorious  only  because  Arabs  had  fought  Arabs;  your 
victory  would  not  have  had  any  moral  result.  It  was  my  friend- 
ship for  you  which  induced  me  not  to  claim  the  post  of  honour 
and  peril :  I  waited  until  you  had  entered  the  city."  General 
Valee  appointed  him  Agha  of  the  province,  but  Farhad  was  of 
no  use  to  the  French  ;  his  Bedouins  were  rude  and  rapacious, 
and  committed  such  outrages  and  murders,  that  the  vicinity  of 
Constantine  became  insecure,  and  no  Arabs  visited  the  market, 
lie  was  therefore  ordered  to  quit  the  country,  and  he  unwillingly 
took  the  way  to  the  south — in  pursuit  of  x4hmet,  as  he  said, 
whose  head  he  promised  to  the  French.  But  when  the  tribes 
saw  that  he  was  not  supported  by  the  French,  they  rose  against 
him  :  he  was  defeated  by  the  Aractas,  and  returned  to  the  Desert. 
General  Valee  was  soon  rewarded  by  the  French  Government 
for  his  gallantry  before  Constantine.  He  received  the  rank  of 
Marshal,  and  the  appointment  of  Governor- General ;  and  it 
seemed  that  now,  at  last,  colonization,  and  not  war,  was  to  be 
the  principal  care  of  the  French.     The  dearly-bought  peace  at 


350  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

the  Tafna  secured,  for  a  while,  the  French  dominion  in  the 
west  against  the  incursions  of  Abd-el-Kader :  the  province  of 
Constantine  was  quiet ;  the  tribes  did  not  dare  to  attack  the 
French,  who  had  so  easily  taken  a  city  reputed  impregnable. 
But  Abd-el-Kader  knew  that  his  own  supremacy  could  not  last 
in  time  of  peace,  and  he  sought  to  innovate  upon  the  treaty  of 
the  Tafna.  According  to  his  interpretation,  the  French  had 
made  a  cession  to  him  of  the  country  through  which  the  way  from 
Algiers  leads  to  Constantine ;  and  besides,  he  claimed  the  sove- 
reignty over  all  the  tribes  of  the  Desert,  from  Tunis  to  Morocco. 
Well  aware  of  the  French  character,  he  sent  his  confidential 
friend  and  Khalifa,  Milud-Ben-Arash,  to  Paris,  with  presents  to 
the  King,  and  entrusted  him  with  the  mission  of  negotiating  an 
explanatory  treaty,  confirming  his  new  pretensions.  But,  con- 
trary to  their  usual  custom,  the  ministers  refused  to  treat  with  the 
envoy  in  Paris  on  questions  of  which  they  did  not  know  the 
bearing ;  and  gave  him  the  advice  to  negotiate  in  Algiers  with 
the  Governor-General.  Milud  had  to  return,  and,  on  the  4th  of 
July  1838,  he  signed  an  additional  convention  with  Marshal 
Valee,  by  which  the  French  interpretation  of  the  treaty  was  ac- 
knowledged ;  but  Abd-el-Kader' s  obligation  to  furnish  thirty 
thousand  bags  of  wheat,  and  as  many  bags  of  barley,  with  which 
he  had  not  complied,  was  commuted  into  an  annual  tribute  of 
two  thousand  bags  of  wheat,  and  the  same  quantity  of  barley,  for 
ten  successive  years.  But  Abd-el-Kader  had  in  the  meantime 
gone  to  the  south,  and  the  additional  convention  was  not  ratified. 
Up  to  the  treaty  of  the  Tafna,  the  Emir  was  nothing  more 
than  the  military  chief  of  the  tribes,  carrying  on  the  holy  war 
against  the  infidels.  His  sovereignty  was  not  regularly  acknow- 
ledged either  by  the  Arabs  or  by  the  Kabyles.  But  after 
General  Bugeaud  and  the  French  Government  had  granted  him 
the  important  provinces  of  Oran  and  Titteri  as  his  territory,  his 
authority  was  soon  recognised  in  the  interior :  it  was  the  French 
who  set  him  up  as  Sultan.  No  tribe  dared  to  refuse  tribute  to 
the  chief,  with  whom  the  Sultan  of  France  had  made  a  treaty  on 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE.  351 

terms  of  equality.  Abd-el-Kader's  legitimacy  was  now  estab- 
lislied.  His  next  step  was  to  organize  his  territory  and  his  forces. 
The  Emir  had  seen  that  the  French  had  successively  entered  all 
the  principal  cities  of  the  Regency;  and  though  they  had  evacu- 
ated them,  still  It  was  dangerous  to  concentrate  the  resources  of 
the  new  Arab  empire  so  near  to  the  French  camps  as  Tlemsan  or 
Mascara.  The  capture  of  Constantine  was  a  clear  evidence  that 
no  fortification  was  too  strong  for  the  enemy;  but  Abd-el-Kader 
was  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  a  long  march  through  the  country 
of  the  Arabs  for  any  French  army.  He  therefore  founded  new 
cities  to  the  south  of  the  old  ones,  as  places  of  refuge,  to  contain 
his  warlike  stores,  powder-mills,  and  gun-factories  ;  they  were  to 
become  the  real  centres  of  his  power.  Boghar  rose  to  the  south- 
east of  Medeah ;  Thaza  south  of  Mlliana ;  Saida  was  to  become 
the  new  Mascara ;  and  Tafraua  the  new  Tlemsan.  His  residence 
was  to  be  Tekedemt,  in  the  midst  of  an  uncultivated  plain  be- 
tween Mascara  and  Thaza,  where  some  Roman  ruins  show  that, 
from  times  of  old,  importance  has  been  attributed  to  the  place. 
He  began  to  erect  here  forts  and  trenches,  barracks, -a  mint,  a 
powder-mill  and  store-houses  for  his  army,  and  a  palace  for  him- 
self. To  fill  the  city  with  inhabitants,  he  transplanted,  in  the  old 
Oriental  way,  the  Moors  of  Mazagran  and  Mostagenem,  the  Turks 
and  Kuruglis  from  Mlliana  and  Medeah,  and  gunsmiths  and 
mechanics  from  all  the  country,  into  the  new  settlement.  Milud- 
Ben-Arash  had  bought  for  him  In  France  the  necessary  utensils 
and  engines  for  his  manufacture  of  arms. 

In  organizing  his  nearly  established  power,  Abd-el-Kader  had 
principally  two  objects  in  view :  to  maintain  the  religious  fanati- 
cism of  the  tribes  in  spite  of  the  peace  with  France,  and  to 
strengthen  his  military  resources,  so  as  not  to  be  entirely  depend- 
ent on  the  contingents  of  the  tribes.  He  wished  to  become 
independent  of  the  fickle  affection  of  the  Arabs,  and  to  be  able  of 
overruling  them  effectually,  both  by  religious  enthusiasm,  and  by 
fear  of  his  military  force.  He  concentrated  all  the  power  in  the 
hands  of  Marabuts.     None  of  his  vicegerents  belonged  to  the 


352        THE  ADMINISTRATION  OP  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

military  nobility,  whom  he  distrusted,  as  being  too  much  In- 
fluenced by  the  momentary  interest  of  their  separate  tribes,  with- 
out caring  for  the  Arab  empire  of  the  Emir ;  whilst  the  Marabuts 
had  a  higher  and  more  enduring  impulse  than  regard  for  their 
tribes,  namely,  hatred  of  the  Christians,  with  some  sentiment  of 
nationality  beyond  the  primitive  relations  of  the  tribes.  But  Abd- 
el-Kader  was  well  aware  that,  to  establish  an  empire  it  is  essentially 
necessary  to  have  "  pretorians," — a  standing  army,  which  has  no 
national  interests,  and  is  only  attached  to  the  person  of  the  chief. 
He  therefore  sent  emissaries  to  all  the  tribes,  and  summoned  the 
young  and  adventurous  men  to  become  "  sons  of  the  Sultan,"  his 
body-guard,  receiving  a  regular  pay,  to  be  always  around  him,  and 
to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battles.  The  flower  of  the  tribes  enlisted 
in  this  way,  and  became  his  regular  cavalry.  For  his  infantry, 
he  got  young  Kabyles,  who  liked  better  to  serve  the  Emir  for 
pay  than  to  earn  a  few  boojoos  from  the  French,  as  labourers  for 
daily  wages  in  the  cities :  his  artillery  was  served  by  French 
deserters,  Turks,  and  Kuruglis. 

When  the  Emir  had,  towards  the  end  of  May  1838,  in  this 
way  assembled  four  thousand  four  hundred  infantry,  nine  hundred 
horsemen,  one  hundred  and  forty  gunners,  twelve  field-pieces, 
twenty-nine  heavy  cannon,  and  nine  thousand  muskets,  he  un- 
dertook an  expedition  against  the  oasis-state,  Ain-Maadi,  in  the 
Sahara,  whose  chief,  the  Marabut  Tijini,  had  refused  to  acknow- 
ledge the  sovereignty  of  the  new  Arab  Sultan.  The  city  Ain- 
Maadi  is  distant  nine  days'  march  from  Tekedemt :  it  is  fortified 
by  a  strong  wall  and  strong  towers  :  its  population  is  not  large, 
scarcely  above  four  thousand  inhabitants  ;  and  the  tribes  depend- 
ing on  Tijini  were  likewise  neither  numerous  nor  influential.  It 
is  therefore  difficult  to  understand  why  the  Emir  undertook  this 
distant  expedition,  which  could  neither  strengthen  his  prestige, 
nor  add  to  his  resources.  Perhaps  he  thought  that  the  city  would 
fall  without  great  resistance,  and  he  might  try  his  new  army  in 
a  campaign  against  an  enemy  less  formidable  than  the  French. 
He  did  not  surmise  that  his  attack  was  to  be  repelled,  and  that, 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE.        353 

in  order  to  maintain  his  honour,  and  not  return  without  a  victory, 
he  would  need  to  make  a  long  siege,  which  would  detain  him  till 
the  end  of  the  year ;  and  that  even  the  final  conquest  would  not 
be  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  forces  wasted  and  the  resources  spent. 
In  fact,  his  long  protracted  absence  injured  him  considerably  with 
the  tribes  in  the  west. 

The  expedition,  being  carried  on  with  his  regular  troops,  ab- 
sorbed his  finances ;  he  had  to  make  exactions  in  order  to  fill  his 
treasury,  and  the  hearts  of  the  tribes  began  to  be  alienated  from 
him.  The  Arabs  of  the  west,  and  especially  the  Hashems,  who 
could  not  forget  that  Abd-el-Kader  had  risen  only  by  their  sup- 
port, were  disaffected  at  seeing  the  Emir  extend  his  power  farther 
south,  and  transfer  the  centre  of  his  government  from  Mascara 
to  Tekedemt.  Ain-Maadi  surrendered  at  last,  late  in  autumn, 
and  paid  a  heavy  fine.  Tijini  fled  to  the  Desert,  and  Abd-el- 
Kader  returned  again  to  those  tribes  which,  after  all,  were  his  real 
strength. 

Marshal  Val6e  had  taken  advantage  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 
In  spring,  1838,  he  occupied  finally  the  cities  of  Coleah  and 
Belida;  he  fortified  their  neighbourhood,  and  connected  them  by 
a  military  road  with  Algiers.  He  organized  the  province  of 
Constantine,  reduced  the  heavy  taxes  which  had  been  imposed  by 
Ahmet- Bey,  conciliated  the  affections  of  the  natives  by  respecting 
their  religious  and  local  traditions;  and  in  autumn  he  occupied 
the  site  of  the  old  Roman  city  Russicada,  and  laid  here  the  founda- 
tions for  a  new  city,  Philippeville.  Milah,  in  the  province  of 
Constantine,  was  likewise  occupied,  and  the  Arab  tribes  of  that 
province  acknowledged  as  faithfully  the  sovereignty  of  their  new 
masters  as  they  had  formerly  acknowledged  that  of  the  Janissaries; 
and  any  outrage  committed  on  isolated  Frenchmen  was  imme- 
diately punished  by  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  without  the  interference 
of  the  French.  In  the  province  of  Algiers,  the  tribes  of  the 
Kashnas,  Beni-Mussa,  and  Beni-Khalil,  who  were  the  allies  of 
France,  and  therefore  often  attacked  by  the  Hajutes,  had  nerve 

enough  to  combine  against  those  partisans  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and 
z 


354        THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

to  chastise  them  severely.  But  the  Kabyles  remained  as  hostile 
as  ever.  In  the  beginning  of  December,  a  combined  attempt  was 
made  to  clear  the  way  from  Algiers  to  Constantine  by  the 
"  Biban,"  or  defile  called  the  Iron  Gates.  The  column,  starting 
from  Constantine  under  General  Galbois,  advanced  without  moles- 
tation to  Setif,  the  ancient  Sitifis.  But  as  the  Algiers  column 
failed  to  arrive,  because  it  was  detained  b}'-  the  incessant  rain,  the 
French  had  to  retreat,  and  were  immediately  attacked  and  harassed 
by  the  Kabyles,  and  forced  to  abandon  the  position  of  Jimilah, 
which  had  been  garrisoned  by  order  of  General  Galbois. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  following  year  (1839)  passed  without 
serious  hostilities.  A  French  brig,  the  "  Independent,"  had  been 
wrecked  in  February  on  the  shores  of  Jijeli;  the  Kabyles  had 
carried  the  crew  into  the  mountains,  and  refused  to  give  them  up 
without  ransom.  Humanity  commanded  compliance  with  the 
proposal  of  the  wild  tribe;  but  it  was  immediately  determined 
to  occupy  Jijeli,  the  ancient  Jelgilis,  which  in  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries  was  a  flourishing  commercial  city,  but  in  1830 
only  a  miserable  "village.  In  May,  the  Foreign  Legion  was  em- 
ployed on  that  expedition.  The  place  was  taken  by  surprise,  and 
before  the  Kabyles  had  time  to  concentrate  their  forces  for  an 
attack,  fortifications  were  raised  sufficient  to  protect  the  new 
military  settlement.  Other  troops  destined  to  reach  the  same 
place  by  land,  chastised,  in  the  meantime,  some  tribes  near  Con- 
stantine, which,  excited  by  the  emissaries  of  Abd-el-Kader,  had 
threatened  the  subjected  Arabs  of  the  lowlands  between  the  Atlas 
and  the  coast. 

TJie  Emir,  seeing  the  dominion  of  the  French  daily  extending, 
and  taking  stronger  root  in  Africa,  had  carefully  evaded  the  rati- 
fication of  Milud-Ben-Arash's  new  convention,  and  began  now 
more  openly  to  incite  the  Arabs  and  Kabyles  against  the  French, 
though  apparently  still  adhering  to  the  treaty  of  the  Tafna.  He 
made  in  person  a  secret  visit  to  the  Kabyles,  south  of  Bujia,  in 
June;  but  he  found  them  little  inclined  either  to  acknowledge 
his  sovereignty,  or  to  begin  an  isolated  war  against  the  French. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE.  355 

He  resorted,  therefore,  to  a  system  of  annoyance  and  cunning", 
which  was  adapted  to  stir  up  the  French,  and  make  them  break  the 
treaty.  In  the  province  of  Algiers,  h.e  kept  up  a  continuous  agita- 
tion ;  in  Oran  he  induced  the  natives  not  to  visit  the  French 
markets,  and  levied  duties  on  the  products  sent  to  the  French 
garrisons.  He  received  ostentatiously  the  allegiance  of  Ferhad- 
Beu-Said,  who  had  now  deserted  the  French;  and  he  did  not 
deliver  the  quantities  of  wheat  and  barley  stipulated  by  the  treaty 
of  the  Tafna.  Sickness  prevailing  in  the  French  army  hindered 
serious  steps  against  the  Emir,  but  Marshal  Valee  decided  that 
something  must  be  done  to  raise  the  prestige  of  the  French  name 
without  making  war.  The  passage  of  a  French  corps  through 
the  Gates  of  Iron  (the  Biban),  on  the  way  from  Constantine  to 
Algiers,  seemed  to  be  most  suitable  for  the  purpose.  According 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  treaty  by  the  Emir,  they  belonged  to 
his  territory,  and  the  natural  difficulties  of  the  country  had  attached 
to  that  defile  a  superstitious  awe :  it  was  said  that  not  even  Roman 
armies  had  ever  crossed  them ;  and  the  Arabs  thought  them  im- 
pregnable, a  few  men  being  able  here  to  stop  an  army.  In  fact, 
those  gates  are  what  the  Americans  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  call 
a  cannon ;  that  is  to  say,  a  long  and  narrow  defile,  bordered  on  both 
sides  by  perpendicular  calcareous  cliffs,  eight  to  nine  hundred  feet 
in  height.  The  passage,  where  it  is  widest,  is  only  three  hundred 
feet  broad;  but  on  four  points,  emphatically  called  the  "  Gates," 
the  cliffs  nearly  join,  and  do  not  leave  more  space  for  the  traveller 
than  a  gap  eight  feet  wide. 

The  expedition  was  hazardous,  but  the  secret  of  it  was  so  well 
preserved,  that  nothing  had  transpired  of  its  aim  even  amongst  the 
soldiers,  when  they  left  Constantine,  on  the  25th  of  October,  under 
the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  of  Lieutenant- General 
Galbois.  The  natives,  surprised  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  the 
French,  made  no  resistance,  but  went  to  meet  them  with  presents 
and  victuals.  The  Sheikhs  of  the  Beni- Abbes,  called  the  Guardians 
of  the  Gates  of  Iron,  brought  grain,  grapes,  and  straw,  and  offered 
to  guide  the  army  through  the  pass.     The  Prince-Royal  invested 


356  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

them  with  burnuses  of  honour,  and  they  promised  to  serve  faith- 
fully the  Sultan  of  France.  The  army,  on  the  28th,  passed  the 
dangerous  defiles  with  precaution,  but  without  meeting  the  slightest 
resistance ;  but  on  the  next  day  a  runner  of  Abd-el-Kader  was 
captured,  with  letters  summoning  the  Arabs  to  the  holy  war.  A 
sudden  march  of  the  French  prevented  the  Arabs  from  taking 
possession  of  the  fortified  position  of  Hamza,  the  Suza  of  the 
Romans,  which  commands  a  great  plain  in  the  centre  of  three 
valleys,  leading  to  Algiers,  to  Bujia,  and  to  the  Iron  Gates.  A  few 
shots  only  were  exchanged  with  the  horsemen  of  Abd-el-Kader, 
who  had  always  indeed  claimed  that  territory  as  lying  within  the 
boundaries  set  up  in  his  treaty  with  the  French,  but  was  not  yet 
prepared  for  overt  rupture.  On  the  1st  of  November,  the  column 
arrived  in  the  camp  of  Algiers,  and  was  received  with  joyful 
acclamations  by  the  colonists.  Such  a  long  and  dangerous  ex- 
pedition, undertaken  in  the  teeth  of  Abd-el-Kader,  without  meeting 
any  serious  resistance,  was  looked  upon  as  a  great  fact — as  an 
evidence  that  the  power  of  France  in  Africa  was  firmly  seated. 
The  French  did  not  surmise  that  this  apparent  triumph  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  greatest  disaster. 

Abd-el-Kader  was  now  ready  for  action.  Already,  in  Sep- 
tember, he  had  returned  from  Thaza,  in  the  Belad-el-Jerid,  to 
Mascara;  and,  against  his  custom,  he  stained  his  hands  with  blood. 
Some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  !Mejeher  had  not  displayed  sufficient 
zeal  for  his  cause;  they  had  furnished  houses  to  the  French,  and 
seemed  inclined  to  a  lasting  peace  with  the  Rummis.  Abd-el- 
Kader  had  the  chiefs  beheaded,  and  the  tribe  disbanded  and  dis- 
persed amongst  those  tribes  upon  which  he  could  depend.  Such 
harshness  foreboded  war,  but  the  passage  of  the  Gates  of  Iron 
forced  him  to  immediate  action.  His  authority  would  have  been 
slighted  by  Arabs  and  Kabyles,  had  he  not  taken  immediate 
reprisals  for  the  expedition  of  General  Galbois  through  a  territory 
which  the  Emir  had  always  contested.  He  wrote,  therefore,  to 
Marshal  Valee  the  following  letter: — 

JSfov.  20,  1839. — "I  have  stated  already  that  all  the  Arabs 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE.  357 

are  unanimous,  and  that  they  think  there  has  been  enough  of 
words,  and  that  the  time  for  the  holy  war  is  come.  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  change  their  resolution,  but  nobody  wishes  for  peace 
any  longer ;  they  are  unanimous  to  begin  the  holy  war,  and  I 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  listen  to  them,  in  order  to  be  faithful  to 
our  law  which  rules  over  us.  Therefore  I  do  not  betray  you;  I 
give  you  notice  of  what  is  going  on.  Send  back  my  envoy  from 
Oran,  that  he  may  go  to  his  family;  and  be  ye  ready,  for  all 
Mussulmans  will  unite  in  the  holy  war." 

Scarcely  had  the  letter  arrived,  when  hostile  Arabs  ap- 
peared in  the  Metija,  destroying  the  crops,  carrying  away  the 
cattle,  and  slaughtering  the  colonists  who  had  not  immediately 
fled.  All  the  province  of  Algiers  was  involved  in  a  general 
blaze. 

As  soon  as  these  tidings  reached  France,  reinforcements  were 
sent  to  Africa;  still  the  French  garrisons  remained  on  the  defen- 
sive. They  were  everywhere  blockaded;  the  line  of  occupation 
was  too  extended,  and  easily  broken  through,  though  the  troops 
resisted  gallantly  the  furious  attacks  of  the  Arabs.  The  defence 
of  Mazagran  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  episodes  of  this  bloody 
war.  Mazagran  is  a  small  fort  in  the  vicinity  of  Mostagenem. 
It  was  garrisoned  in  the  beginning  of  1840  by  the  16th  company 
of  the  "  Battalion  d'Afrique,"  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
men,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Lelievre.  On  the  2d  of 
February,  Mustapha-Ben-Thamy,  the  Emir's  vicegerent  at  Mas- 
cara, invested  them  suddenly  with  a  motley  crowd  of  twelve 
thousand  Arabs,  one  battalion  of  regulars,  and  two  cannon.  The 
struggle  lasted  for  four  days  and  four  nights  uninterruptedly. 
An  Arab  describing  it,  said:  "  Those  days  were  black;  for  the 
smoke  of  the  powder  eclipsed  the  sun,  and  the  nights  were  lighted 
by  the  camp-fires  and  the  flashes  of  musketry  and  cannon." 
Half  of  the  ammunition  of  the  small  garrison  was  spent  already 
on  the  first  day;  on  the  second,  the  commander  gave  the  order  to 
spare  the  powder,  and  to  repulse  the  storming  Arabs  only  with 
the  bayonet;  on  the  fourth,  he  assembled  his  troops,  and  said: 


358  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  MARSHAL  VALEE. 

"  We  have  but  ten  thousand  cartridges,  and  one  barrel  of  powder ; 
when  we  have  spent  the  cartridges,  we  shall  enter  the  powder- 
magazine,  and  put  the  match  to  it,  happy  to  die  for  our  country. 
Hurrah  for  France  !  hurrah  for  the  King ! "  The  company  re- 
peated the  exclamation  enthusiastically :  on  the  next  morning,  the 
plain  was  free  from  the  enemy.  The  Arabs  had  disencamped, 
seeing  that  they  could  not  succeed  in  capturing  even  the  smallest 
fortified  post.  Three  times  the  flag- staff  on  the  gate  was  broken 
by  the  bullets  of  the  Arabs ;  yet  it  was  always  reared  again,  pro- 
claiming the  victorious  resistance  of  the  French. 

Some  twenty  successful  actions  were  fought  in  the  course  of 
the  year ;  but  in  spite  of  French  gallantry,  they  did  not  lead  to 
any  result.  Though  the  Arabs  were  unable  to  storm  French 
fortifications,  yet  the  French  could  not  keep  the  open  field. 
According  to  the  old  system,  large  columns  moved  in  spring  and 
in  autumn  to  the  blockaded  places,  supplying  the  garrisons 
with  provisions,  and  were  harassed  on  their  march  onward  and 
backward  by  Abd-el-Kader's  horsemen,  who  avoided  any  general 
engagement.  The  country  remained  unsubdued :  it  was  clear 
that  after  ten  years  the  French  had  made  no  real  progress 
in  the  interior:  they  were  looked  upon  as  hostile  intruders, 
whose  sway  did  not  extend  beyond  the  places  where  they  were 
encamped. 

But  whilst  the  war  was  raging  in  the  provinces  of  Algiers 
and  of  Oran,  Constantine  remained  quiet.  The  last  conquest  was 
the  most  secure ;  no  outbreaks  here  disturbed  the  peace ;  the 
chiefs  were  devoted  to  the  French;  the  Beni-Salah  punished 
every  outrage  committed  on  Frenchmen  ;  the  Sheikhs  of  the 
Haractas  brought  the  letters  of  Abd-el-Kader,  summoning  them 
to  the  holy  war,  unopened  to  the  French  commanders ;  and  the 
Nemenshah  repulsed  Ahmet  •Be}'',  who  made  an  attempt  to  rouse 
his  former  subjects.  On  the  whole,  those  eastern  tribes  seemed 
to  be  more  accessible  to  European  civilization.  There  was 
abundant  evidence  to  prove  it :  seeing  potatoes  in  the  gardens  of 
the  French,  the  Arabs  requested  their  masters  to  furnish  them 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.  359 

with  the  seed  of  that  plant,  and  four  hundred  natives  had  come  to 
Constantine  to  have  their  children  vaccinated. 

The  campaign  had  lasted  alread}'-  for  one  year ;  the  Generals 
Duvivier,  Changarnier,  Lamoriciere,  and  Cavaignac,  had  dis- 
played a  military  capacity  of  the  highest  order.  Still  all  the 
efforts  and  sacrifices  of  the  army  led  to  no  result;  it  could  not  be 
doubted  any  longer  that  Marshal  Valee  did  not  possess  the 
genius  of  grappling  with  such  difficulties.  The  old  European 
system  of  war  was  of  no  avail  against  the  harassing  nomade  war- 
fare of  Abd-el-Kader  ;  a  new  system  had  to  be  invented,  and  the 
Marshal  was  too  old  for  it.  He  was  always  too  late,  in  attack 
and  in  defence ;  the  indefatigable  energy  of  the  Emir  anticipated 
all  his  movements ;  the  Governor  felt  that  he  was  unequal  to  his 
task;  he  insisted  on  being  recalled,  and  his  request  was  granted  in 
December  184,0,  General  Bugeaud  being  appointed  his  successor. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF   GENERAL   BUGEAUD. 

The  policy  of  France  in  Algeria  underwent  a  complete  change 
with  the  appointment  of  General  Bugeaud  to  the  governorship  of 
the  French  possessions  in  Africa.  Up  to  his  time,  there  was  a 
continual  change  of  commanders-in-chief  and  of  governors ;  they 
remained,  on  an  average,  only  for  eighteen  months  at  their  post. 
Eight  times,  in  the  short  space  of  ten  years,  the  administration 
was  changed;  and  besides,  the  generals  second  in  command — as, 
for  instance,  Desmichels  and  Bugeaud — did  not  care  much  for 
their  superiors.  No  system  had  until  now  had  a  fair  trial.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  Government  of  Louis  Philippe  looked  upon 
Algeria  only  as  the  means  of  giving  occupation  to  the  army,  in  a 
foreign  country,  not  in  contact  with  France,  where  the  soldiers 
were  necessarily  to  become  denationalized  and  brutalized,  like  the 
Austrians  and  Russians.     Besides,  Abd-el-Kader  had  been  raised 


360  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

to  his  important  position  solely  by  the  blunders  of  Clauzel,  and 
the  treaties  of  Desmichels  and  Bugeaud.  It  seemed,  therefore,  as 
if  France  had  been  more  anxious  to  have  a  continuous  war  in 
Algeria,  that  would  keep  up  the  military  spirit  of  the  French 
nation,  than  to  colonise  the  country. 

It  was  plain  that  there  were  only  two  ways  for  subduing  Al- 
geria: one  slow  and  steady — we  might  call  it  the  American 
system  of  expansion,  by  which  only  so  much  of  the  country  was 
to  be  guarded  by  the  army  as  was  actually  occupied  by  agricul- 
tural colonists,  pushing  the  natives  onward  by  the  plough,  and 
expelling  forcibly,  or  exterminating  only  those,  who  remain  on 
their  pasture-grounds,  unwilling  to  exchange  their  roving  habits 
for  agriculture.  The  other  system — the  English  system  in  India, 
which  does  not  expel  the  natives,  after  they  have  been  taught, 
by  severe  defeat,  to  see  that  resistance  is  impossible, — required  a 
large  army  for  a  short  period,  and  a  great  aggressive  war,  crush- 
ing every  independent  chief,  preventing  the  union  of  the  tribes, 
and  putting  down  any  feeling  of  a  nationality  common  to  them  all. 
The  first  sy^jtem,  to  which  Yoirol  and  Yalee  were  inclined,  was  re- 
jected by  the  vanity  of  the  French  nation,  which  would  not  acknow- 
ledge that  a  handful  of  Turkish  janissaries,  under  the  command 
of  a  barbarous  X)ey,  was  more  successful  than  the  disciplined 
troops  of  the  great  French  generals.  The  second  system  was 
hampered  by  the  opposition  of  the  middle  classes  in  the  Cham- 
bers, which  were  always  indisposed  to  increase  the  budget.  But 
Abd-el-Kader  had  now  really  become  a  formidable  power  by  the 
blunders  of  the  French,  who  might  have  destroyed  him  easily, 
either  by  strengthening  his  rival  native  chiefs,  such  as  Mustapha- 
Bey,  or  15y  occupying  Mascara,  which  for  a  long  time  remained 
the  only  centre  of  power  to  the  Emir.  A  war  on  a  grand  scale  had 
become  unavoidable,  and  the  Chambers  could  not  refuse  the  neces- 
sary expenditure,  unless  they  were  prepared  to  give  up  the  African 
possessions  altogether,  or  to  keep  only  the  forts  of  the  coast  in  the 
same  way  as  the  Spaniards  keep  Ceuta  and  Melilla,  in  a  state  of  con- 
tinual blockade,  without  any  advantage  to  the  mother  country. 


^ 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.       3C1 

The  governors  of  the  first  ten  years  were  nearly,  without  excep- 
tion, men  of  the  Napoleonic  wars,  reputations  to  be  used  up,  in 
order  to  show  that  the  Napoleonic  way  of  ruling  did  not  suit  the 
exigencies  of  the  present ;  they  were  of  no  political  value  for  the 
Orleans  interest.  But  as  soon  as  a  great  war  was  resolved  upon, 
General  Bugeaud  was  intrusted  with  the  command,  though  the 
treaty  of  the  Tafna,  and  the  secret  article  of  the  thirty  thousand 
boojoos  (sixty  thousand  francs),  did  not  recommend  him  either  for 
diplomatic  ability,  or  for  integrity.  He  was  an  unpopular  man, 
having  in  1834  brutally  massacred  the  insurgents,  and,  with  them, 
many  peaceable  citizens,  in  the  streets  of  Paris.  But  he  was  en- 
tirely bound  to  the  Orleans  family,  retrograde  in  his  political 
principles,  unscrupulous  in  his  diplomacy,  energetic  in  the  field. 
Such  a  man  at  the  head  of  an  army,  to  which  he  had  become  en- 
deared by  victories,  and  which  had  forgotten  its  national  feelings 
in  a  long  and  savage  war  with  a  relentless  and  cruel  enemy,  was 
just  what  might  be  required  in  the  future ;  either  at  home  as  a 
scourge  of  the  Republicans,  whom  Louis  Philippe  always  dreaded, 
though  he  feigned  to  despise  them ;  *  or  the  scourge  of  Europe,  if 
events  should,  sooner  or  later,  bring  France  into  collision  with 
Europe.  Besides,  it  was  just  the  time  when  the  Oriental  compli- 
cation between  Mehemet  Ali  and  the  Sultan  had  been  settled  by 
the  four  great  powers  of  Europe,  with  the  exclusion  of  France : 
Louis  Philippe  had  therefore  some  need  of  displaying  energy,  and 
of  showing  that  the  power  of  France  could  not  be  trifled  with. 
The  African  army  was  accordingly  increased  to  100,000  men,  and 
Abd-el-Kader,  who  formerly  had  been  treated  as  a  rival  power  to 
France,  was  henceforward  styled  a  rebel.  The  warfare  of  the 
Arabs  was  adopted  by  the  French;  the  aim  of  the  expeditions 
was  no  longer  victory,  a  great  blow  against  the  enemy ;  but  the 
destruction  of  his  crops,  the  capture  of  his  cattle,  and  the  ruin  of 
his  villages  and  encampments.     The  army  was  to  become  as  easily 

*  In  1848,  Bugeaud  offered  to  crush  the  insurrection  of  February  by  a 
vigorous  attack ;  but  Louis  Philippe  refused  to  give  orders  for  a  general  slaughter 
of  the  Parisians. 


362  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

moveable  as  the  Arab  tribes.  Surprises  and  sudden  irruptions 
into  the  country  of  the  enemy  were  the  means  for  carrying  on 
that  system  of  warfare.  It  did  not  recognise  neutral  tribes. 
Whichever  of  them  did  not  immediately  submit  to  France,  and 
give  practical  proofs  of  its  submission,  was  treated  as  hostile. 
When  Bugcaud  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  turn  the  Arabs  and 
Kabyles  into  Frenchmen,  he  turned  the  French  army  into  Arabs 
and  Kabyles ;  and  the  savage,  harassing  warfare  of  the  razzias,  as 
those  plundering  expeditions  were  called,  soon  became  popular 
with  the  French  generals  and  soldiers.  In  fact,  it  was  a  school 
for  the  coup  d'etat  in  France. 

General  Bugeaud  was  quite  aware  how  important  it  is  with 
Mohammedans  to  act  upon  their  imagination,  and  to  show  them 
at  once  that  all  their  means  of  defence  could  not  be  of  any  avail 
against  the  French.  After  having  made  a  few  scouring  expedi- 
tions along  the  Shelif,  and  having  sent  provisions  to  the  garrisons 
of  Medeah  and  Milianah,  the  Governor-General  himself  headed  a 
strong  column,  leading  it  in  the  beginning  of  May,  1841,  straight 
to  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country — to  Tekedemt,  the  new  capital 
and  fortress  of  Abd-el-Kader,  which  the  Emir  had  thought  to  be 
inaccessible  to  the  French.  The  army  left  Mostagenem  on  the 
18th,  and  arrived  as  early  as  on  the  25th,  before  Tekedemt,  since 
the  harassing  warfare  of  the  Arabs  and  Kabyles  proved  unsuc- 
cessful against  greater  masses  of  disciplined  European  troops. 
The  Emir  rallied  his  forces  before  his  capital,  and  fought  a  battle; 
but  his  horsemen  could  not  stand  the  attack  of  the  French  Zuaves; 
they  fled,  and  the  Governor-General  entered  the  city  without  re- 
sistance. It  was  empty  ;  the  inhabitants  had  all  left,  after  having 
set  fire  to  their  houses.  But  all  that  Bugeaud  wanted  was  to 
destroy  the  stronghold  of  the  Emir ;  the  walls  were  battered  down, 
the  fortifications  levelled,  and  Abd-el-Kader,  encamped  on  the 
hills  in  the  vicinity,  had  to  see  his  labour  of  three  years  destroyed 
in  one  day. 

From  the  ruins  of  Tekedemt,  Bugeaud  directed  his  march 
across  the  country  to  Mascara;  and  the  Emir,  who  retreated  before 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.       363 

the  Frencli  army  everywhere,  dared  not  to  oppose  them  even 
here.  Mascara  was  likewise  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  and 
partly  destroyed ;  but  the  stone  houses  aflorded  to  the  French 
sufficient  shelter.  Bugeaud  avoided  now  the  blunder  of  Marshal 
Clauzel;  he  left  a  strong  garrison  in  the  city,  and  returned  to 
Mostagenem.  The  Emir,  seeing  the  French  on  their  retreat,  made 
a  furious  attack  upon  them ;  but  he  was  repulsed  with  no  small 
loss  :  seven  of  his  principal  chiefs  fell  in  that  desperate  struggle, 
and  the  French  troops  did  not  get  into  disorder.  On  the  3d  of 
June,  Bugeaud  was  again  at  his  head- quarters,  after  a  short, 
nearly  bloodless,  but  triumphant  campaign.  General  Baraguay 
d'Hilliers,  who  at  the  same  time  had  left  Belida  with  the  second 
column,  was  not  less  favoured  by  the  fortune  of  war.  He  reached 
and  destroyed  the  new  establishments  of  Boghar  and  Thaza,  with- 
out meeting  any  serious  resistance;  whilst  Lieutenant- General 
Negri er  expelled  from  the  province  of  Constantine  a  vicegerent 
of  Abd-el-Kader,  who  had  nearly  succeeded  in  rousing  the  tribes 
of  the  Medjana.  In  the  Desert,  the  influence  of  the  Emir  was 
likewise  broken,  since  Bu-Asis-Ben-Ganah  had  declared  himself 
for  the  French,  and  Farhad-Ben-Said,  the  old  intriguer,  and  now 
the  vicegerent  of  the  Emir,  was  once  more  defeated.  In  August, 
General  Lamoriciere  made  an  expedition  from  Mascara  to  the 
south ;  he  destroyed  the  sepulchres  of  the  ancestors  of  Abd-el- 
Kader  ;  he  levelled  to  the  ground  the  Ghetna  of  Sidi-Mahiddin, 
and  captured  and  ruined  Saida,  the  last  of  the  new  forts  of  the 
Emir. 

The  campaign  had  scarcely  begun,  and  Abd-el-Kader's  powder 
was  already  shaken.  It  seemed  as  if  the  French  had  allowed  him 
for  four  years  to  gather  strength,  and  to  provide  himself  with 
French  muskets  and  ammunition,  only  that  it  should  become 
■worth  their  while  to  destroy  him.  The  results  were  soon  visible 
in  all  the  provinces.  Manj'-  tribes  sent  envoys  to  the  French,  and 
submitted.  But  Abd-el-Kader  had  not  yet  lost  the  hope  of 
opening  negotiations,  which  might  result  in  a  new  treaty ;  he  there- 
fore gave  orders  to  spare  in  future  the  French  prisoners.     A  few 


364  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

hundred  stragglers  were  soon  in  his  power,  and  their  liberation 
was  of  course  anxiously  wished  by  the  French.  But  Bugeaud 
avoided  any  direct  intercourse  with  the  Emir,  which  might  have 
been  interpreted  as  an  acknowledgment  of  an  Arab  sovereignty. 
The  Bishop  of  Algiers,  M.  Dupuch,  a  generous  and  true-hearted 
Christian,  took  therefore  the  mission  of  humanity  upon  himself; 
he  proceeded  to  the  camp  of  the  Emir  on  his  own  responsibility, 
and  arranged  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 

The  disasters  of  the  first  campaign  had  not  damped  the  ener- 
gies of  Abd-el-Kader.  Seeing  he  could  not  resist  the  great  French 
columns,  he  adopted  the  plan  of  chastising  those  tribes  which 
had  forsaken  him.  Besides,  he  was  able  to  annoy  the  French,  to 
blockade  their  advanced  garrisons,  to  interrupt  their  communica- 
tions, and  to  continue  a  savage,  harassing  warfare  against  them. 
Having  lost  Mascara,  his  capital,  and  all  the  strongholds  which 
he  had  established  on  the  boundaries  of  the  Desert,  he  now  organ- 
ized his  Zmelah ;  that  is  to  say,  a  roving  city  of  tents,  harbouring 
his  family  and  those  of  his  lieutenants,  and  containing  his  stores  of 
arms  and  ammunition.  This,  his  nomade  camp,  was  well  provided 
with  camels  and  beasts  of  burden,  for  the  easy  transport  of  the 
women,  the  children,  the  old  and  the  infirm.  It  was  guarded  by 
his  regulars,  and,  according  to  the  fortune  of  war,  either  advanced 
to  the  plains,  or  retreated  to  the  Desert  and  its  northern  oases. 
The  personal  activity  of  the  Emir  was  unbounded  in  surprising 
small  detachments  of  the  French,  in  carrying  away  the  cattle  of 
the  colonists,  in  destroying  their  crops,  and  in  forcing  the  tribes 
inclined  to  peace  to  follow  him  into  his  territory  between  the 
Shelif  and  the  Mina.  He  appeared  now  amongst  the  Arabs  on 
the  border  of  the  Desert,  and  immediately  after,  eastwards  amongst 
the  Kabyles  in  the  mountains,  and  even  amongst  the  Hajutes  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Algiers,  preaching  everywhere  the  holy  war, 
and  reviving  the  slackened  fanaticism.  But  General  Bugeaud 
and  his  lieutenants  soon  surpassed  the  Arabs  in  that  kind  of  pre- 
datory warfare,  by  which  the  Emir  had  until  now  succeeded. 
General  Lamorici^re  was  left  with  a  sufiicient  force  in  Mascara  in 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.       365 

the  autumn  of  1841,  and  made  from  that  place  a  series  of  razzias 
all  over  the  country.  The  detachments  carried  portable  mills  in 
their  train;  the  soldiers  had  learned  to  find  out  the  places  where 
the  tribes  had  hidden  their  wheat  in  subterraneous  holes  (silos);  * 
they  ground  their  flour  in  their  camps,  and  lived  upon  the  cattle  they 
carried  away  from  the  Arabs.  Never  embarrassed  for  want  of 
provisions,  they  could  undertake  long  scouring  expeditions  for 
chastising  the  tribes,  and  making  it  dangerous  to  remain  attached 
to  the  fortunes  of  Abd-el-Kader.  Changarnier,  Bedeau,  Cavaignac, 
St.  Arnaud,  and  most  of  the  superior  officers,  whose  names  have 
figured  among  the  influential  men  of  France  since  J848,  won 
here  their  fame  in  a  war  which  accustomed  them  to  look  only  to 
the  ultimate  result,  irrespective  of  the  means  by  which  it  was 
gained.  The  African  campaign  of  1841  and  1842  was  not  a 
modern  war  of  disciplined  armies,  who,  whilst  fighting  one  another, 
spare  the  agricultural  and  industrial  population,  and  all  those  who 
are  incapable  of  carrying  arms.  It  was  a  war  in  the  old  sense  of 
the  word — a  war  of  destruction,  not  recognising  any  individual 
property  to  be  spared;  every  Arab  and  every  Kabyle  was  a 
belligerent;  his  cattle  and  his  crops,  his  house  and  tent,  his  wife 
and  child,  fell  under  the  cruel  law  of  war.  It  is  true  that  no 
other  system  of  hostilities  could  have  succeeded  in  Algeria;  but 
surely  it  did  not  elevate  the  standard  of  morality,  either  with  the 
French  soldiers  or  with  the  officers.  The  predatory  razzias 
against  Abd-el-Kader  roused  that  ferociousness  in  the  French 
army  which  was  displayed  In  June  1848  against  the  insurgents 
of  Paris,  and  in  December  1851  against  peaceable  citizens.  A 
detailed  account  of  all  those  destructive  expeditions  In  1842  is 
saddening  and  monotonous,  without  any  general  Interest,  except 
for  French.  The  result  was  the  submission  of  most  of  the  tribes. 
The  Arabs  and  Kabyles  were  obliged  to  furnish  to  the  victors 


*  The  Arab  way  of  keeping  wheat  in  conical,  under-ground  holes,  is  com- 
mon likewise  to  the  Sicilians  and  Hungarians  in  Europe,  and  to  the  Armenians 
and  Kurds  in  Asia.     Demosthenes  mentions  the  corn-pits  {aipol)  of  the  Thra- 


366  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

auxiliaries,  who  were,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  hostages  for  the 
faithfulness  of  the  tribes. 

Driven  to  despair,  Abd-el-Kader  became  cruel,  contrary  to  his 
former  habits.  He  had  surprised  several  chiefs  of  such  Arab 
tribes  as  had  deserted  his  cause,  when  unable  to  resist  the  French. 
He  had  four  of  them  decapitated,  one  was  blinded,  and  a  few 
mutilated.  The  Emir's  only  strength  lay  now  in  the  Kabyles  of 
the  mountains,  and  it  seems  that  in  order  to  maintain  his  prestige 
amongst  them,  he  had  to  become  as  cruel  as  they  were  themselves. 
He  now  inspired  terror,  and  succeeded  once  more  in  rousing  a  few 
Arab,  and  many  Kabyle  tribes,  in  the  east  as  well  as  in  the  west. 
General  Bugeaud  saw  that  the  only  way  of  obtaining  at  last  the 
pacification  of  the  province  was  an  incessant  war,  not  allowing 
any  rest  to  the  harassed  tribes,  until  they  themselves  should  expel 
the  Emir  as  the  cause  of  their  misfortunes.  Therefore,  not  even 
the  severity  of  the  winter  interrupted  the  military  expeditions; 
the  razzias  followed  one  another  in  the  Kabyle  mountains  as 
well  as  in  the  Arab  plains,  until  at  last  the  Duke  d'Auraale  suc- 
ceeded in  surprising  and  capturing  the  Zmelah  of  Abd-el-Kader 
on  the  16th  of  May.  Three  thousand  six  hundred  prisoners, 
amongst  whom  were  three  hundred  of  the  kin  of  the  Emir  and  of  his 
lieutenants,  his  treasure,  his  tents,  and  his  correspondence,  four 
standards,  and  a  cannon,  were  the  trophies  of  that  day.  General 
Lamoriciere,  on  the  19th,  completed  the  victory  by  capturing  two 
thousand  five  hundred  prisoners  more,  the  horses,  the  cattle,  and 
the  baggage  of  the  Zmelah. 

Old  Mustapha-ben-Ismael,  once  the  superior,  then  the  rival  of 
Abd-el-Kader,  whom  he  never  called  otherwise  than  "  that  son 
of  Mahy-Eddin,  who  felt  honoured  when  he  ate  with  my  servants," 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  all  the  engagements  of  the  last  years. 
He  had  been  appointed  French  General,  Commander  of  the 
Legion  d'Honneur,  and  was  happy  to  see  his  rival  humiliated;  but 
on  his  return  from  the  capture  of  the  rest  of  the  Zmelah,  he  was 
waylaid  by  some  Arabs,  and  shot  in  ambush.  His  followers  fled 
panic-stricken,  and  the  Arabs  carried  the  head  of  the  old  man  away, 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.  367 

presenting  it  to  Abd-el-Kader.  The  Emir  had  it  salted,  and  sent 
round  from  tribe  to  tribe  as  a  sign  of  triumph,  in  order  to  coun- 
teract the  depressing  influence  of  the  tidings  of  defeat.  It  was 
too  late.  In  the  Regency  of  Algiers  there  remained  no  hope 
more  for  the  Emir;  a  few  tribes  only  followed  hira  and  his  for- 
tunes. Defeated  once  more,  in  October  1842,  at  Uad-Mala,  he 
fled  with  his  followers  from  the  territory  of  their  fathers  to  Morocco, 
in  the  hope  that  perhaps  the  population  or  the  Emperor  might  be 
induced  to  make  a  stand  against  the  encroaching  Frencli. 

In  the  third  year  of  an  incessant  war,  Bugeaud  had  completely 
succeeded  in  defeating  every  resistance  to  France.  The  tribes 
flocked  to  the  French  generals  to  declare  their  submission  and  to 
pay  their  tribute,  and  it  seemed  that  the  Regency  was  pacified. 
In  order  to  extend  the  influence  of  France  even  over  the  tribes  of 
the  Belad-el-Jerid,  three  expeditions  were  now  undertaken  to 
the  south ;  the  first,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  d'Aumale, 
was  to  proceed  to  Biscara,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  province 
of  Constantine;  the  second  had  to  go  into  the  central  Belad-el- 
Jerid,  under  General  Marey,  to  subdue  the  independent  tribe  of 
the  Oulid  Nail ;  the  third  proceeded  from  Oran  against  the  An^ad, 
whilst  the  Governor-General,  -lately  elevated  to  the  rank  of 
Marshal,  was  to  chastise  the  Flissas  and  Amrauahs  south  of 
Bujia,  who  made  incursions  into  the  territory  of  the  tribes  allied 
to  France,  since  the  Kabyles  were  incited  to  do  so  by  Ben- Salem, 
the  vicegerent  of  Abd-el-Kader.  All  those  expeditions  were 
crowned  with  the  most  complete  success.  The  march  of  the  three 
first  columns  was  a  triumphant  progress,  the  Sheikhs  received  them 
with  acclamations  and  presents,  Biscara  opened  its  doors  without 
resistance,  and  the  power  of  France  seemed  as  firmly  established 
as  that  of  the  Deys  had  formerly  been.  The  Marshal  succeeded 
even  in  scouring  the  country  of  the  Kabyles,  and  easily  occupied 
the  city  of  Dellys,  on  Cape  Matifu,  the  Ruscurium  of  the  Romans. 
Bugeaud,  who  had  always  styled  himself  the  farmer's  friend,  and 
had  taken  considerable  interest  in  the  cattle- shows  and  agricul- 
tural .dinners  in  France,  now  thought  that  the  time  of  colonization 


368  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

had  at  last  arrived;  the  end  of  the  year  1843  was  employed  in 
schemes  for  the  extension  of  agriculture  in  the  conquered  country. 
But  one  difficulty  had  yet  to  he  overcome.  The  Sultan  of 
Morocco,  the  most  important  monarch  of  Africa,  had  not  yet  felt 
the  power  of  France,  and  Abd-el-Kader  had  found  a  shelter  in 
the  empire  of  the  west  (El  Gharb,  the  Arabic  name  of  Morocco). 

The  Emperor,  Muley  Abd-er-Rahman,  a  cunning  and  avaricious 
man,  was  in  a  difficult  position.  Ever  since  1830,  it  was  the 
principal  point  of  his  policy  not  to  embroil  himself  in  difficulties 
with  France :  his  aim  was  peace,  though  not  at  any  price.  Still 
a  Mussulman  prince  is  as  much  influenced  in  his  policy  by  the 
prejudices  of  his  people,  and  their  sympathies  or  antipathies,  as 
any  constitutional  sovereign  of  Europe.  The  Arab,  as  well  as 
the  Kabyle  population  of  Morocco,  felt  a  natural  interest  in  the 
fortunes  of  Abd-el-Kader;  and  their  fanaticism  was  roused  by  the 
victorious  progress  of  the  French,  and  by  the  reverses  of  that 
champion  of  the  faith,  the  Emir,  whom  Muley  Abd-er-Rahman  had 
often  secretly  furnished  with  arms,  of  course  at  a  high  price. 
Surrounded  by  the  threefold  halo  of  the  saint,  the  hero,  and  the 
martyr,  Abd-el-Kader  had  at  last,  in  1842,  been  driven  into 
Morocco,  a  homeless  exile ;  and  it  was  difficult  for  the  Emperor 
to  restrain  the  excited  enthusiasm  of  the  frontier  tribes,  who, 
though  nominally  under  the  sovereignty  of  Muley  Abd-er- 
Eahman,  and  paying  to  him  a  tribute,  were  in  fact  nearly  inde- 
pendent.    A  new  incident  led  to  more  serious  complications. 

A  Jew,  of  the  name  of  Victor  Darmon,  consular  agent  of  Spain 
and  Sardinia,  in  Mazagan,  a  town  on  the  Morocco  coast,  had 
killed  a  Moor  in  an  affray.  He  was  sentenced  to  death,  and 
executed  by  the  local  authorities,  after  he  had  again  killed  one  of 
his  guards  in  an  attempt  to  escape.  The  consuls  of  Spain  and 
Sardinia,  residing  inTangiers,  made  serious  remonstrances  against 
this  violation  of  international  right,  as  the  case  had  not  been 
communicated  to  them  before  execution ;  and  the  French  consul 
backed  those  protests.  The  Sultan  of  Morocco  gave  an  unsatis- 
factory answer,  and  Spain  began  to  threaten  the  empire  with 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.       369 

hostilities,  unless  full  satisfaction  were  given.  The  minds  of  the 
Moroquins  became  excited,  and  Abd-el-Kader  seized  this  oppor- 
tunity of  involving  the  Emperor  in  a  war. 

Muley  Abd-er- Rahman  could  not  resist  the  popular  impulse, 
lest  Abd-el-Kader,  at  the  head  of  the  war-party,  should  dethrone 
him.  He  therefore  gave  orders  to  as>semble  the  troops  and  the 
contingents  of  the  tribes,  in  the  hope  of  remaining  master  of  the 
movement.  The  Amazighs  and  Shillukhs  came  down  from  their 
mountains  into  the  cities,  where,  according  to  their  custom,  they 
discharged  their  muskets,  and  wasted  much  gunpowder.  The 
European  merchants,  and  the  French  consuls  in  Tangiers  and 
Mogador,  immediately  pretended  to  have  been  threatened  and 
insulted.  As  the  French  had  encamped  close  to  the  frontier  of 
Morocco,  on  the  banks  of  the  Maluia,  the  Emperor  had  likewise 
a  camp  assembled  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river.  So  close  to 
one  another,  hostilities  became  inevitable.  On  the  30th  of  May 
1844,  some  Arabs  discharged  their  muskets  on  the  French  sen- 
tries ;  the  shots  were  returned ;  a  fight  ensued  ;  the  irregular 
Arabs  and  Kabyles  in  the  Moroquin  army  attacked  the  French, 
and  were  repulsed  with  loss.  The  Moroquin  chiefs  were  much 
grieved  at  this  untoward  event,  and  sent  the  army  back  to  some 
distance  from  the  frontier  to  the  town  of  Ushda ;  and  Ei-Ghenavi, 
the  Kaid  of  Ushda,  repeatedly  visited  Marshal  Bugeaud  and 
General  Bedeau,  in  order  to  explain  to  them  the  difficulty  of  his 
position,  and  declare  his  desire  to  maintain  peace.  But  Abd-el- 
Kader  again  succeeded  in  inducing  the  contingents  of  the  tribes 
to  renew  the  attack,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  French. 
Marshal  Bugeaud  now  crossed  the  frontier,  defeated  the  assail- 
ants, and  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Ushda.  New  complaints 
were  immediately  made  ;  the  French  claimed  from  the  Emperor 
that  the  Moroquin  army  on  the  frontier  should  be  disbanded ; 
that  the  Kaids  and  Sheikhs,  who  had  headed  the  attack  on  the 
French,  should  be  punished ;  and  that  Abd-el-Kader  should  be 
expelled  from  Morocco.  Muley  Abd-er-Rahman,  on  the  other 
hand,  excused  the  Kaids,  on  the  plea  that  the  boundary  was  con- 


370       THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD. 

tested,  and  had  been  violated  first  by  the  French  ;  and  he  at  the 
same  time  accused  the  Marshal  of  having  knowingly  entered  the 
empire,  and  taken  possession  of  Ushda,  which  was  certainly  a 
much  more  flagrant  violation  of  the  territory  than  the  first  attack 
on  the  French  made  by  undisciplined  Arab  horsemen.  He  there- 
fore consented  to  punish  the  Kaids,  on  the  condition  that  Marshal 
Bugeaud  should  be  recalled  by  the  king ;  as  both  parties,  according 
to  the  Moroquins,  were  in  fault,  and  both  had  to  give  complete 
satisfaction.  The  French  felt  themselves  insulted  by  such  a 
demand :  the  consul  at  Tangiers  sent  an  ultimatum  to  the  Em- 
peror ;  and  when,  instead  of  an  answer  from  him,  only  a  concilia- 
tory letter  of  the  Pasha  of  Larash  arrived  on  the  day  fixed  for 
the  expiration  of  the  ultimatum,  assuring  him  that  a  satisfactory 
answer  of  the  Emperor  was  on  the  way,  the  French  fleet,  under 
Prince  Joinville,  on  the  6th  of  August,  bombarded  the  port  of 
Tangiers  (the  Tingis  of  the  Romans),  and  again,  on  the  15th,  the 
city  of  Mogador,  which  was  partially  destroyed,  and,  after  a 
desperate  struggle,  captured  by  the  French.  The  Moroquins  did 
not  know  that  they  were  involved  in  war  with  France,  but  most 
gallantly,  though  unsuccessfully,  defended  themselves  to  the 
utmost  against  an  attack  which  should  be  branded  as  piratical, 
though  we  have  seen  Napoleon  T.  attacking  in  the  same  way 
Malta  and  Egypt,  England  bombarding  Copenhagen,  and  the 
combined  fleets  of  England,  France,  and  Russia,  destroying  the 
Turkish  fleet  at  Navarino  in  time  of  peace.  Another  case  of 
the  same  kind  happened  again  at  Rangoon,  which  w^as  like- 
wise bombarded  whilst  the  negotiations  were  going  on.  The 
recent  occupation  of  the  Danubian  Principalities  is  only  an  imita- 
tion of  those  French  and  English  precedents.  But  the  outrage 
at  Tangiers  was  so  much  the  more  unprovoked  as  the  submis- 
sion of  the  Sultan  to  tlie  demands  of  France  had  been  really 
signed  on  the  2d  of  August,  and  was  only  accidentally  delayed 
on  the  way  to  Tangiers.  But  the  French  pursued  a  similar 
course  likewise  on  the  Algerine  frontier.  Abd-er-Rahman,  in 
order  to  preserve  peace,  had  the  Kaid  of  Ushda  deposed  and 


THE  ADMINISTKATION  OF  GENERAL  BUGEAUD.       37  I. 

imprisoned ;  nevertheless  Bugeaud  again  crossed  the  frontier,  in 
order,  as  he  said,  to  accelerate  the  conclusion  of  the  negotiations. 
Of  course  such  a  violation  of  the  territory  could  not  be  endured 
by  Muley  Abd-er- Rahman :  he  again  demanded  the  removal  of 
Marshal  Bugeaud,  and  the  retreat  of  the  French  army  to  some 
distance  from  the  frontier ;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  he  reinforced 
his  troops,  and  sent  his  son  to  command  them.  The  army  num- 
bered already  forty  thousand  men;  and  the  fanaticism  of  the 
Mussulmans  was  raised  to  such  a  degree,  that  in  their  camp  they 
spoke  of  marching  to  Tlemsan,  to  Oran,  and  even  to  Algiers,  as 
soon  as  war  should  be  declared.  Bugeaud' s  position  began  to 
grow  critical,  since  he  had  only  thirteen  thousand  men  under  his 
command.  He  therefore  thought  he  might  succeed  better  by  sur- 
prise, and  took  to  the  offensive,  whilst  unscrupulously  dispensing 
with  any  declaration  of  war.  The  Moroquin  troops  knew  that 
the  negotiations  were  on  the  eve  of  being  concluded,  and  did  not 
suspect  any  attack,  when,  suddenly  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of 
May,  they  received  the  tidings  that  the  French  army  was  ap- 
proaching. They  had  scarcely  time  to  arm  themselves  before  the 
French  had  crossed  the  river  of  Isly,  and  were  attacking  the  camp 
of  the  Moroquins.  The  Mussulmans,  thus  surprised,  made  three 
attempts  to  rally  and  to  crush  the  French  by  their  superior  num- 
bers ;  but  their  efforts  were  vain — they  fled  in  the  greatest  dis- 
order. Their  camp  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French ;  and  the 
tent  and  umbrella  of  the  son  of  the  Emperor — from  times  of  old 
the  sign  of  imperial  power  in  the  East — were  sent  to  Paris  as 
trophies  of  French  gallantry.  Marshal  Bugeaud  was  elevated  to 
the  rank  of  "  Duke  of  Isly,"  and  Generals  Cavaignac,  Bedeau, 
and  Pellissier,  got  additional  fame  in  France.  But  this  was  the 
whole  result  of  the  battle ;  for  it  was  fought  after  the  treaty  of 
peace  between  France  and  Morocco  had  already  been  signed.  It 
did  not  alter  the  conditions  of  the  treaty, — not  even  the  expulsion 
of  Abd-el-Kader  was  insisted  upon  by  France,  since  the  Emperor 
had  declared  that  he  was  bound  by  his  religion  not  to  refuse 
protection   to   those  who  are   unfortunate,  and  claim  it  in  the 


372 

name  of  God.  But  the  pride  of  Morocco  was  humbled  by  the 
defeat ;  though  the  glory  only,  not  the  honour,  of  France  was 
increased. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  CATASTROPHE  OF  ABD-EL-KADER,  AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS. 

The  French  were  firmly  persuaded  that  the  battle  of  Isly  had 
ended  the  war  in  Africa,  since  Abd-el-Kader  was  removed  by  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco  to  the  interior,  and  the  Moroquins  had  not 
the  intention  of  wiping  off  their  defeat  by  an  aggression.  Bugeaud, 
therefore,  full  of  schemes  for  colonization  and  protection  of  agricul- 
ture, departed  for  Paris  in  order  to  get  authority  to  execute  them. 
He  did  not  yet  sufficiently  know  the  toughness  and  perseverance 
of  Mussulmans.  Scarcely  had  Abd-el-Kader  vanished  from  the 
scene,  than  an  unknown  young  man  suddenly  appeared  among  the 
Kabyles,  Mohammed-Ben- Abd- Allah,  with  the  surname  of  Bu- 
Maza  (the  father  of  the  goat).  Strange  prophecies  had  preceded 
his  appearance,  and  the  young  Kabyle  assumed  the  character  of 
the  liberator,  who  was  promised  by  pious  Marabuts  as  often  as 
the  Mussulmans  felt  oppressed  by  the  Christians.  He  was  to  be 
the  man  to  found  a  new  empire,  and  to  drive  the  foreign  con- 
querors into  the  sea.  In  the  Kabyle  country  on  the  Shelif,  he 
went  from  tribe  to  tribe;  his  eloquence  excited  the  people,  and 
Arabs  and  Kabyles  spoke  of  the  miracles  he  had  |)erforraed 
wherever  he  was  seen.  The  insurrection  was  kindled  again,  but 
without  any  apparent  plan.  Adventurers  arose,  on  some  twenty 
points,  to  lead  the  tribes  against  the  French,  and  all  of  then\ 
assumed  the  name  and  surname  of  their  model,  Mohamraed-Ben- 
Abd- Allah,  the  Bu-Maza.  When  Abd-el-Kader  heard  the  battle- 
cry  of  the  holy  war  raised  again,  he  escaped  from  Morocco,  and 
appeared  once  more  in  Algeria,  to  take  advantage  of  events. 
He  despised  Bu-Maza,  who,  in  his  eyes,  was  but  an  adventurer ; 


AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS.  373 

the  Emir,  in  turn,  was  hated  by  the  young  Kabyle,  who  would 
not  work  for  the  aggrandizement  of  a  used-up  chief.  Still  the 
force  of  events  linked  their  interests  together ;  the  cunning  Arab 
Emir  and  the  adventurous  Kabyle  concerted  their  measures.  The 
isolated  movements  were  combined ;  and  on  the  25th  of  Septem- 
ber 1845,  a  sudden  outbreak  took  place  all  over  the  province  of 
Oran.  Some  French  detachments  were  surprised  and  cut  to 
pieces,  and  the  country  was  once  more  in  a  blaze.  Bu-Maza 
and  the  Kabyles,  flushed  by  their  success,  really  believed  in  the 
expulsion  of  the  French ;  but  it  soon  became  evident  that  Abd- 
el-Kader  had  different  views :  he  pushed  straight  towards  Mas- 
cara, and  carried  away  the  great  tribe  of  the  Beni-Ammer,  and 
a  portion  of  the  Hashems,  who  had  been  alvvays  attached  to 
his  person.  They  suddenly  left  their  territory,  and  driving  be- 
fore them  all  the  tribes  with  whom  they  fell  in,  they  carried  a 
considerable  population  away  to  Morocco,  to  support  there  the 
plans  and  the  influence  of  Abd-el-Kader.  But  the  Emir  could 
not  leave  the  field  without  aiming  a  great  blow  at  the  "  Rum- 
mis."  Resolved  to  carry  terror  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
French  possessions,  he  hastened  with  incredible  rapidity  to  the 
east  of  Algiers,  towards  the  capital,  accompanied  by  the  most 
fanatical  warriors  of  the  tribes  whom  he  met  on  this  flying  expe- 
dition, and  pouncing  upon  those  tribes  which  Vv^ere  known  as 
faithful  to  the  French.  Marshal  Bugeaud  suddenl}^  returned  from 
France  on  the  news  of  such  disasters,  ready  to  meet  the  tmir  once 
more;  but  the  Arab  had  already  sustained  a  discomfiture  from 
General  Gentil,  which  had  arrested  his  eccentric  movement.  His 
retreat  towards  the  Desert  was  intercepted ;  he  had  to  turn  back 
the  same  way  he  had  come,  pursued  by  the  enemy,  and  soon 
abandoned  by  his  followers,  whom  he  had  gathered  on  his  march 
onward.  It  was  only  the  fleetness  of  his  horse  which  saved  him 
from  being  captured,  and  he  arrived  in  Morocco,  followed  only  by 
fourteen  horsemen.  The  French  now  made  regular  war  upon 
Bu-Maza,  who  had  soon  to  surrender,  and  was  carried  to  France, 
where  he  was  held  for  some  time  in  honourable  confinement,  then 


374  THE  CATASTROPHE  OF  ABD-EL-KADER, 

brought  to  Paris,  and  there  lionized,  until  the  savage  Kabyle 
became  as  tame  and  as  civil  as  any  Parisian  dandy;  whilst  Abd- 
el-Kader  had  achieved  his  aim,  and  had  once  more  become  for- 
midable, though  not  now  to  the  French,  but  to  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco.  However,  he  had  to  abide  his  time  for  furthering  his 
ambitious  plans. 

Algeria  was  once  more  pacified  in  summer  1846.  The  Arab 
tribes  had  all  either  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  French,  or 
had  followed  the  Emir  to  Morocco ;  but  the  Kabyles  remained  in 
their  savage  independence,  though  without  being  as  aggressive 
as  before.  Their  sullen  fanaticism  continued  to  be  dangerous; 
an  expedition  was,  therefore,  sent  into  their  mountain-fastnesses 
in  the  vicinity  of  Bujia.  Their  resistance  was  feeble;  three 
engagements  sufficed  to  convince  them  that  the  time  had  arrived 
for  acknowledging  the  sovereignty  of  the  foreigner.  On  the  25th 
of  May  1846,  all  the  Kaids  and  Sheikhs  came  down  from  the 
Jurjura  to  the  French  camp,  which  was  pitched  at  the  foot  of  the 
Atlas,  close  to  Bujia,  to  receive  their  investiture,  and  to  declare 
their  allegiance  to  France.  After  seventeen  years  of  incessant 
war,  the  French  had  at  last  conquered  all  the  country  nearly  as 
far  as  either  the  Romans  or  the  Turks  had  extended  their  sway  in 
the  interior.  But  Marshal  Bugeaud,  Duke  of  Isly,  did  not  reap 
the  fruits  of  his  toils :  his  mission  in  Algeria  was  completed ;  and, 
contrary  to  his  wishes,  he  was  recalled  by  Louis -Philippe. 

The  Duke  of  Isly  had  proved  in  Africa  an  energetic  and  success- 
ful general :  though  a  pedantic  disciplinarian,  yet  not  devoid  of 
organizing  genius ;  an  unscrupulous  statesman,  who  did  not  care 
for  the  means  by  which  he  enforced  his  aims ;  he  loved  money  and 
influence ;  he  had  a  narrow  mind,  and  great  perseverance.  But 
his  zeal  for  the  colony  of  Algiers  was  not  feigned ;  he  had  had 
the  welfare  of  the  Regency  really  at  heart.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  governorship  of  Algeria  by  the  Duke  d'Aumale.  This 
appointment  showed  clearly  that  the  province  was  looked  upon  as 
entirely  secure,  since,  according  to  modern  policy,  it  is  not  in 
time  of  danger  that  such  a  post  is  confided  to  a  royal  prince, 


AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS.  875 

though  it  was  known  that  General  Lamorlclere,  the  personal  ftieud 
of  the  Prince,  was,  of  course,  to  have  a  considerable  influence  in 
the  administration. 

Abd-el-Kader  in  the  meantime  pursued  his  ambitious  schemes 
in  Morocco.  Sweeping  over  the  province  of  Oran,  he  had  carried 
away  his  favourite  tribes,  the  Beni-Ammer  and  the  Hashem. 
"  The  Beni-Ammer,"  he  used  to  say,  "  are  my  cloak — the 
Hashem  are  my  shirt."  They  had  greatly  auftcred  in  the  last 
years ;  their  crops  had  been  burnt  and  trampled  down  by  French 
columns;  their  cattle  carried  away;  the  best  of  their  braves 
slain.  Formerly  the  most  important  of  th^  tribes  on  the  plain  of 
Mascara  {Ma  asker,  means  in  Arabic,  the  mother  of  the  braves), 
they  had  been  reduced  to  poverty.  The  Emir  transplanted  them 
to  Morocco,  where  the  sympathy  of  the  people  made  good  their 
losses,  whilst  they  increased  the  influence  of  Abd-el-Kader.  He 
was  no  longer  the  poor  exile,  living  upon  the  charity  of  Muley 
Abd-er-Rahman :  he  had  become  once  more  a  chief  of  several 
Arab  tribes;  and  his  immediate  followers,  that  is  to  say,  his 
regulars,  gave  him  a  power  not  to  be  despised.  His  renown,  as  be- 
ing the  great  champion  of  the  faith,  and  the  enemy  of  the  Rummis, 
made  his  camp  soon  the  centre  of  all  the  Moroquin  fanatics  and 
enthusiasts,  who  could  not  bear  the  idea  that  their  Emperor  should 
remain  at  peace  with  those  infidels  who  had  taken  possession  of  a 
Mussulman  country,  and  had  taxed  the  believers.  The  influence 
of  the  Emir  increased  daily  in  the  yearts  1846  and  1847;  and 
Muley  Abd-er-Eahman,  fond  of  peace,  money,  and  commercial 
speculations,  looked  with  suspicion  on  the  movements  of  his  guest. 
He  did  not  wish  to  become  involved  in  a  second  war  with  the 
French,  whom  he  knew  to  be  equally  formidable  by  their  valour 
and  by  their  cunning,  and  he  could  not  doubt  that  Abd-el-Kader 
was  brewing  some  mischief — either  a  new  inroad  into  Algeria,  or 
a  revolution  in  Morocco.  The  Emperor  had  therefore  his  own 
army  assembled,  and  watched  the  movements  of  the  Emir.  In 
December  1847,  Abd-el-Kader  sent  his  vicegerent,  Buhamedi,  to 
Abd-er-Rahman,  with  proposals  of  an  arrangement  by  which  he 


376  THE  CATASTROPHE  OF  ABD-EL-KADER, 

inight  be  appointed  vicegerent  of  the  Emperor.  It  was  now 
scarcely  possible  to  avoid  a  collision,  for  the  demand  could  not  be 
granted  without  causing  a  war  with  France,  nor  refused  without 
a  civil  commotion.  Abd-el-Kader  knew  it,  and  in  expectation  of 
an  unfavourable  answer,  he  marched  his  assembled  forces  towards 
the  frontiers  of  Algeria.  General  Lamoriciere,  informed  of  this 
movement,  led  a  corps  of  observation  likewise  to  the  Maluia,  in 
order  to  watch  the  development  of  events.  On  the  9th  of  Decem- 
ber, the  Emir  received  a  letter  from  Abd-er-Rahman  by  the 
imperial  runners,  informing  him  that,  as  long  as  he  remained 
hovering  on  the  frontier,  and  maintaining  an  army  of  his  own, 
no  arrangement  could  be  made ;  but  if  he  consented  to  come  to  Fez, 
the  Emperor  would  treat  him  as  his  guest ;  the  regulars  would 
be  incorporated  into  the  Moroquin  army,  and  all  his  followers, 
the  refugees  and  the  tribes  of  Algeria,  would  receive  a  territory 
sufficient  for  their  wants.  In  case,  however,  the  Emir  should  not 
accept  these  proposals,  the  way  to  the  Desert  was  open  to  him, 
and  the  Emperor's  troops  would  not  hinder  his  departure  for  the 
Sahara.  Abd-el-Kader  dismissed  the  runners  without  any  answer, 
and  assembled  all  his  troops  and  all  his  followers  around  his  per- 
son ;  he  put,  plainly  and  without  palliation,  the  case  before  them, 
and  informed  them  that  he  was  resolved  once  more  to  try  his 
fortune,  and  to  attack  the  troops  of  the  Emperor.  If  victorious, 
he  was  sure  to  become  the  vicegerent  of  Muley  Abd-er-Rahman, 
and  to  wield  all  the  power  of  Morocco;  if  defeated,  his  camp 
would  probably  be  plundered,  but  the  retreat  to  the  Desert  through 
the  French  territory  might  not  be  impossible,  where  they  could 
find  an  asylum.  His  followers  received  the  statement  Avith  en- 
thusiasm. 

With  one  thousand  two  hundred  cavalry  and  a  thousand  infan- 
try, he  pounced  now  upon  the  Moroquins,  and  surprised  them  on 
the  night  of  the  12th  December.  By  driving  four  horses  tarred, 
and  carrying  ignited  combustibles  on  their  backs,  into  the  hostile 
camp,  he  succeeded  in  creating  a  panic.  The  Arab  auxiliaries  of 
the  Emperor  fled  in  confusion,  but  the  regulars  soon  formed  them- 


AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS.  377 

selves  in  squares,  and  the  impetuous  charge  of  Abd-el-Kader 
broke  down  before  the  bayonets  of  the  masses.  He  had  to  retire 
without  victory;  but  the  Moroquin  troops  now  rapidly  surrounded 
him,  so  as  to  cut  him  off  from  the  Desert,  pressing  him  towards 
the  mouth  of  the  Maluia,  between  the  sea  and  the  banks  of  the 
river.  His  career  was  drawing  to  a  close.  Well  aware  that  it 
was  nearly  impossible  to  escape  death  or  imprisonment,  he  cared 
first  for  those  of  his  faithful  followers  who  were  helpless ;  he  sent 
the  females,  the  children,  and  the  old  men  of  his  retinue,  and  all 
valuables,  over  the  river,  to  seek  an  asylum  with  the  French. 
The  Moroquin  Kabyles,  seeing  this  move,  by  which  their  booty 
was  to  escape  them,  threw  themselves  furiously  on  the  small  army 
of  the  Emir;  but  his  horsemen  and  regulars  on  foot  heroically  did 
their  duty  :  half  of  them  were  slain  on  the  spot  whilst  unflinch- 
ingly resisting  the  murderous  attacks,  until  at  sunset  all  the 
retinue  had  crossed  the  river,  and  was  safe  on  the  French  terri- 
tory. At  night,  Abd-el-Kader  gathered  the  few  remains  of  his 
army,  and  fled  to  the  Beni-Snassen,  a  Moroquin  tribe,  which  had 
been  always  attached  to  his  cause.  He  had  the  hope  of  succeeding 
in  reaching  the  Desert,  but  the  Moroquins  and  the  French  array 
barred  his  way.  His  horsemen  met  with  the  Spahis  of  Lamori- 
ciere,  and  the  Emir  perceived  that  the  disarming  of  his  retinue 
had  not  diverted  the  attention  of  the  French  general  from  his 
person.  Placed  in  a  position  similar  to  that  in  which  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  found  himself  in  1815,  when  the  allies  had 
entered  Paris,  whilst  English  cruisers  were  watching  the  coast, 
the  Emir  took  the  same  resolution  as  the  Emperor.  Per- 
haps he  had  heard  Napoleon's  story  from  some  renegade,  and 
was  aware  how  the  English  were  devoted  to  eternal  hatred 
by  the  French  for  having  treated  the  submitting  enemy  as  a 
rebel,  and  not  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  He  was  sure  that  the 
French  could  not  follow  the  example  of  the  English  government 
in  the  time  of  Lord  Castlereagh.  Unable  to  escape,  he  sent  his 
submission  to  General  Lamorici^re,  delivering  himself  up  to  the 
generosity  of  the  French,  under  the  condition  that  he  should  be 


378  THE  CATASTROPHE  OP  ABD-EL-KADER, 

sent  in  a  French  vessel  either  to  Alexandria  or  to  St.  Jean  d'Acre, 
that  he  might  pass  the  rest  of  his  life  in  prayers  at  the  tomb  of 
the  Prophet.  Laraoriciere  thought  he  did  not  overstep  his  powers 
in  granting  him  the  request ;  and  on  the  24th  of  December,  the 
Emir  was  led  by  the  General  to  the  Governor- General,  the  Duke 
of  Aumale,  who  had  just  arrived  at  Djemma  Gazauat.  Abd-el- 
Kader,  as  a  sign  of  his  submission,  gave  up  his  horse  to  the  Prince, 
who  forthwith  ratified  the  pledge  of  General  Lamoriciere,  in  the 
firm  hope  that  the  government  of  the  King  would  sanction  it. 
But  Monsieur  Guizot  and  his  colleagues  did  not  sanction  the 
double  promise  of  the  General  and  of  the  Governor- General : 
they  out-Castlereaghed  Lord  Castlereagh,  for  no  solemn  pledge 
was  given  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  before  his  submission;  on 
the  contrary,  he  was  openly  told  that  he  could  not  surrender  but 
at  discretion.  Chivalry  and  generosity  seemed  to  have  died  out 
in  France.  Abd-el-Kader  was  sent  to  Amboise,  and  kept  in 
honourable  confinement,  together  with  his  family  and  followers. 

The  revolution  soon  avenged  the  wrongs  of  the  Emir  on  King 
Louis  Philippe,  on  the  Duke  of  Aumale,  and  on  Monsieur  Guizot. 
But  republican  France  was  not  more  generous  than  royal  France 
had  been.  Lamartine,  who  had  a  speech  of  sympathy  for  all  the 
oppressed,  had  no  memory  for  the  promise  given  to  the  Emir; 
he  did  not  think  it  advisable,  after  so  manj'-  noble  words,  to 
do  a  faithful  act.  But  the  man  of  pompous  speeches  likewise 
vanished  from  the  scene  on  which  he  had  displayed  such  splen- 
did tragic  talents :  the  man  of  action — an  African  general,  the 
celebrated  Cavaignac  —  succeeded  him  in  the  Government  of 
France.  But  the  stern  republican  interested  himself  more  for  the 
restoration  of  papal  despotism  in  republican  Rome,  than  for  re- 
deeming the  pledge  of  his  brother-in-arms,  the  General  Lamori- 
ciere, though  it  had  been  ratified  in  his  own  presence  by  the 
Duke  of  Aumale,  Governor-General  of  Algeria.  Abd-el-Kader 
remained  prisoner  at  Amboise.  However,  the  schemes  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Pope  did  not  save  Cavaignac;  the  General 
was  soon  discarded   by  the  people,   and  Louis   Bonaparte  was 


AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS.  379 

elected  President  of  the  French  Republic  a  few  weeks  before  the 
anniversary  of  the  submission  of  Abd-el-Kader.  The  Prince- 
President  had  himself  been  a  prisoner  :  he  had  energetically  de- 
nounced "  the  perfidy  of  England,  and  the  shame  of  St.  Helena."* 
When,  therefore,  he  appointed  Lamoriciere  his  minister  at  St. 
Petersburg,  everybody  expected  the  release  of  the  Emir.  But 
Lamoriciere  and  Louis  Bonaparte  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that 
the  honour  of  France  was  not  yet  redeemed.  An  English  peer 
now  took  up  the  case  of  poor  Abd-el-Kader,  and  reminded  the 
President  that  it  might  be  judicious  to  seem  generous  by  being 
just ;  and,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  this  peer  was  the  brother  of 
Lord  Castlereagh — of  the  man  who  had  sent  the  uncle  of  the 
President  to  St.  Helena,  to  be  watched  there,  just  as  the  Emir 
was  now  watched  at  Amboise ;  Louis  Bonaparte  did  not  remind 
the  British  peer  of  the  past,  and  delayed  the  release  of  the  Arab 
chief.  However,  he  redeemed  the  pledge  of  General  Lamoriciere, 
soon  after  having  banished  him,  and  set  Abd-el-Kader  free. 
The  Emir  was  treated  in  Paris  with  kindness  and  respect,  and 
was  sent,  at  last,  to  Broussa,  in  Asia-Minor,  where,  amidst  the 
tombs  of  the  early  sultans,  he  lives  now  on  a  French  pension. 

With  the  surrender  of  Abd-el-Kader,  a  complete  change  took 
place  in  Algeria.  No  serious  revolt  disturbed  the  country  any 
more,  and  all  the  French  generals  of  African  celebrity,  with  the 
exception  of  Pellissier,  left  the  scene  of  their  victories.  Lamori- 
ciere, Cavaignac,  Changarnier,  Bedeau,  Duvivier,  Negrier,  Char- 
ras,  St.  Arnaud,  Canrobert,  Baraguay  d'Hilliers,  and  manj^ 
others  of  less  note,  were,  in  consequence  of  the  revolution,  called 
to  France,  whither  they  imported  their  African  policy  and  ex- 
perience. Bugeaud  died  soon  after  the  overthrow  of  his  master, 
but  not  before  placing  his  sword  at  the  command  of  the  Republic. 
After  the  unexpected  fall  of  Louis  Philippe  and  his  dynasty,  the 

*  I  am  well  aware  that  those  views,  which  nearly  every  Frenchman  holds, 
are  scarcely  understood,  and  always  indignantly  rejected  by  the  English,  who 
maintain  that  after  Napoleon  had  broken  the  treaty  of  Fontainbleau  by  his  return 
from  Elba,  and  surrendered  at  discretion  by  coming  on  board  the  Bellerophon, 
he  must  either  be  shot  or  watched,  as  he  could  not  be  trusted  any  longer. 


380  THE  CATASTROPHE  OF  ABD-EL-KADER, 

Government  of  France  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lamartine,  a  senti- 
mental poet,  on  the  eve  of  bankruptcy ;  of  Ledni  Rollin,  a  shrewd 
lawyer,  equalling  his  poetical  colleague  both  in  eloquence  and  in 
want  of  statesmanship ;  and  of  Louis  Blanc,  an  analytical,  revolu- 
tionary genius,  without  any  power  of  reconstruction,  who,  besides, 
had  always  lived  secluded  with  his  theories,  and  was  untried  in 
practical  life.  A  few  second-rate  men,  politicians  and  red-tapists, 
completed  the  Government.  It  was  a  sad  spectacle.  France  has 
so  utterly  lost  every  tradition  of  self-government,  that  governed 
it  must  be  from  the  centre,  anyhow.  And  governed  it  was  accord- 
ingly, not  by  energetic  reforms  and  great  administrative  measures, 
but  by  great  speeches  and  petty  intrigues.  The  lower  classes  of 
the  people  felt  that  a  revolution  was  something  more  than  a 
change  of  name,  and  that  the  mere  substitution  of  the  word  Republic 
for  the  word  Monarchy  would  not  do.  The  eloquence  of  Lamar- 
tine amused  them  greatly;  the  awkward  conspiracies  against 
foreign  countries  fostered  by  Caussidiere  and  Sobrier,  the  lieuten- 
ants of  Ledru  Rollin,  did  not  interest  them ;  but  they  listened  to 
the  words  of  Louis  Blanc,  who  promised  better  days  and  greater 
comforts  than  heretofore.  The  poet  and  the  lawyer,  being  old 
politicians,  combined  first  to  displace  the  apostle  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  labour  from  his  seat  in  the  council  of  Government,  and 
succeeded  in  sending  him  into  the  professor's  chair  in  the  Luxem- 
bourg. Then,  in  order  to  counteract  the  theories  of  Louis  Blanc, 
and  to  show  the  absurdity  of  any  endeavour  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  condition  of  the  working  classes,  they  established  the 
Ateliers  Nationaux  against  the  will  and  advice  of  the  prophet 
of  the  Luxembourg.  But  Lamartine  intrigued  likewise  against 
Ledru,  who  delighted  in  mob-rule  without  being  able  to  direct  it. 
The  sentimental  poet,  backed  by  the  frightened  monied  classes, 
soon  out-generalled  the  cunning  lawyer,  who  had  fallen  into  the 
greatest  disrepute,  not  for  his  real  shallowness  and  want  of  ad- 
ministrative talent,  but  for  alleged  peculations  and  reckless  ex- 
penditure of  public  money,  of  which  he  was  not  guilty  at  all. 
Calumny  against  those  who  are  in  power,  is  always  believed  in 


AND  OF  HIS  CONQUERORS.  381 

a  democratic  country.  A  financial  crisis  disturbed  all  the  social 
relations ;  the  monied  classes  were  anti-republican  and  cow- 
ardly ;  the  working  classes  turbulent  and  unruly.  Such  was  the 
society  of  France  when  the  African  generals  arrived  one  by 
one.  How  they  must  have  despised  that  weak  and  blundering 
Government  which  spent  its  power  in  paltry  intrigues,  unable 
either  to  inspire  confidence  and  courage  in  the  plutocracy,  or 
energy  and  self-reliance  in  the  working  classes — unable  either  to 
handle  the  iron  rod  of  centralization,  or  to  establish  provincial 
and  municipal  self-government — unable  either  to  compress  the 
movement  in  France,  or  to  give  a  vent  to  its  energies  by  a 
campaign  in  aid  of  the  struggling  nations  of  Europe  !  But  those 
African  generals  had  no  lever  by  which  they  could  have  moved 
the  country ;  the  Provisional  Government  had  prudently  sent  the 
army  away  from  Paris.  The  first  among  them  who  distinguished 
himself  in  France,  was  Changamier.  "When,  on  the  15th  of  May, 
a  procession  of  above  a  hundred  thousand  working  men  was 
paraded  through  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  invaded  first  the  National 
Assembly,  and  then  pressed  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  the  seat  of  the 
Government,  and  Lamartine  despaired  of  being  able  to  disband  the 
mob  by  a  speech,  since  his  voice  could  not,  of  course,  reach  such  a 
crowd, — Changarnler,  impatient  of  the  proceedings,  had  the  drum 
beaten  and  the  National  Guard  called  out.  The  middle  classes 
assembled,  and  saw  at  once,  to  their  own  astonishment,  that  they 
likewise  were  a  power,  and  an  armed  and  disciplined  one:  the 
African  General  had  taught  them  self-consciousness,  and  mob- 
rule  was  henceforth  impossible.  But  the  middle  classes  were 
not  satisfied  with  the  first  success :  the  working  classes  were  to 
be  subdued  and  crushed.  The  Assembly,  therefore,  decreed,  with- 
out previous  notice,  the  immediate  dissolution  of  the  Ateliers 
NationauXj  which  had  cost  many  millions  without  any  return, 
and  where  the  labourers  and  mechanics  were  kept  in  idleness,  but, 
strange  to  say,  organised  in  a  military  way;  no  provision  was 
made,  even  for  the  first  moments,  in  favour  of  the  inmates  of  the 
Ateliers,  by  the  dissolution  of  which  nearly  one  hundred  thousand 


382  THE  CATASTROPHE  OF  ABD-EL-KADER,  ETC. 

able-bodied  paupers  were  suddenly  tbrown  on  the  streets,  in  June 
1848.  Organized  as  they  were,  without  resources,  deprived  of 
that  protection  by  which  a  blundering  Government  had  under- 
mined their  self-reliance,  they  tore  up  the  pavement  and  made 
war.  An  energetic  attack  would  have  probably  immediately 
subdued  those  deluded  insurgents ;  but  it  is  one  of  the  rules  of 
African  policy  to  let  the  enemy  grow  strong,  that  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  defeat  him ;  and  accordingly  the  insurrection  was 
allowed  to  gain  power  on  the  first  day,  before  General  Cavaignac 
began  his  razzia  in  the  streets  of  Paris.  The  Generals  Duvivier 
and  Negrier,  who  had  escaped  the  bullets  of  the  Arabs  of  the 
Desert,  and  of  the  Kabyles  of  the  mountains,  fell  in  that  street- 
fight  by  which  Cavaignac  became  the  ruler  of  France.  But  if 
it  is  possible,  in  a  centralised  country,  to  get  the  empire  in  such  a 
way,  it  is  impossible  thus  to  get  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
Louis  Bonaparte  was,  in  December,  elected  President. 

The  new  President,  who  never  had  held  a  higher  military  rank 
than  that  of  a  captain  in  the  Swiss  Militia,  soon  out-generalled  the 
Africans.  He  made  some  of  them  his  ministers,  in  order  to  dis- 
credit them;  some  others  he  attached  to  his  person,  whilst  the 
most  renowned  formed  an  opposition  against  him.  When  the 
proper  time  had  come,  he  ordered,  in  December  1851,  a  success- 
ful Arab  razzia  through  the  streets,  after  having  entrapped  the 
haughty  plutocratic  Changarnier,  the  stern  republican  Cavaignac, 
the  amiable  legitimist  Bedeau,  the  brilliant  Orleanist  Lamoriciere, 
and  the  energetic  and  devoted  Charras:  he  banished  them  all 
from  the  country.  African  policy  was  now  sufficiently  acclimated 
in  France :  the  country  had  no  longer  any  need  of  African 
generals. 


RECAPITULATION.  383 

CHAPTER  X. 

RECAPITULATION. 

The  destiny  of  a  country  and  the  character  of  its  inhabitants  is 
nearly  always  prefigured  in  its  geographical  features.  Wherever 
we  see  large  lakes  and  navigable  rivers,  and  a  coast  deeply 
indented  by  sea,  affording  access  into  the  interior,  or  extensive 
connected  plains,  which  offer  easy  means  of  communication ;  there 
we  commonly  find  a  focus  of  commerce,  industry,  and  that  civi- 
lization which  arises  from  the  frequent  intercourse  with  foreigners. 
Nearly  always  it  is  a  country  of  rapid  changes  in  the  manner  of 
thinking,  a  country  of  progress  and  activity.  But  where  the 
coast  offers  but  few  harbours  for  shipping — where  no  navigable 
rivers  lead  into  the  interior — where  mountains  of  difficult  access 
bar  the  communication  between  the  plains, — there  we  find  agri- 
cultural and  cattle-raising  nomade  populations,  secluded  from  the 
world,  adhering  to  their  old  traditions,  and  shunning  contact  with 
foreigners.  And  if  such  a  country  is,  besides,  situated  under  a 
southern  climate,  where  the  first  necessities  of  life  are  few,  and 
nature  yields  them  with  full  hands,  without  hard  labour  to  a  sober 
population,  that  population  remains  long  in  a  primitive  state ;  and 
that  evolution  of  the  spirit  of  man  which  we  are  used  to  call 
civilization,  cannot  easily  be  introduced  among  them.  They  have 
no  wish  for  our  progress,  and  even  when  they  are  brought  into 
contact  with  a  highly  civilized  nation,  they  spurn  its  luxuries,  and 
think  themselves  happier  in  their  patriarchal  life,  without  the 
wants  and  without  the  feverish  excitement  of  the  more  progressive 
races. 

Algeria,  from  her  geographical  configuration,  can  never  become 
a  great  commercial  country:  still  she  maybe  once  more,  as  in 
times  of  old,  the  granary  of  Europe ;  she  may  even  vie  with  the 
Southern  States  of  the  North-American  Union  in  producing 
tobacco  and  cotton.     But  the  difficulties  which  the  French  have 


384  RECAPITULATION. 

to  overcome  until  they  amve  at  such  a  result,  are  innumerable, 
from  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
natives,  and  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  French  race,  which  has 
to  colonize  the  fine  country. 

Geographically,  the  Regency  of  Algeria  is  divided  into  three 
unequal  portions,  entirely  different  from  one  another:  the  narrow 
sea-coast,  the  broad  Atlas,  and  the  southern  slope  of  the  mountain- 
plateau,  designated  promiscuously  by  the  name  of  the  Koblah 
(the  south),  the  Belad-el-Jerid  (land  of  dates),  and  (improperly) 
the  Sahara.  The  coast  runs  in  a  long  south-easterly  line  from 
Cape  Hone  to  Cape  Tabarca :  it  is  little  broken  by  indentations 
of  the  sea,  and  affords  but  few  harbours  to  commerce.  On  the 
whole,  it  contains  many  narrow  valleys  of  the  most  fertile 
character,  divided  by  hilly  plateaus,  and  expanding  near  Oran, 
Algiers,  and  Bona,  into  extensive  plains.  Those  valleys  and 
plains  are  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  Regency,  being  by  sea 
connected  with  the  adjacent  countries.  They  are,  besides,  suffi- 
ciently provided  with  small  rivers,  such  as  may  be  eaisily  available 
for  irrigation,  and  are  protected  by  the  plateau  of  the  Atlas  from 
the  hot  and  dry  winds  of  the  Desert,  which  are  cooled  by  passing 
over  snow-capped  mountains.  Oranges,  pomegranates,  grapes, 
olives,  and  mulberries,  grow  here  in  abundance;  and  the  experi- 
ments with  the  sugar-cane,  with  cotton,  tobacco,  and  cochineal, 
have  sufficiently  established  the  fact,  that  as  regards  soil  and 
climate,  the  coast  of  Algeria  could  supply  Europe  with  all  the 
staple  articles  imported  now  from  the  Southern  States  of  the 
North  American  Union,  as  soon  as  the  resources  of  that  colony 
were  sufficiently  developed  by  a  denser  European  population. 
Till  then,  the  large  plains  invite  the  capitalists  to  extensive 
grazing  and  wool-growing  enterprises.  The  greatest  drawbacks 
of  that  paradisial  portion  of  the  country  are  the  swamps  in  its 
northern  part,  and  the  miasmas,  which  threaten  the  health  of  the 
colonists;  but  the  French  army  has  executed  great  works  of 
drainage  in  the  most  recent  years;  many  of  the  marshes,  men- 
tioned by  Dr.  Wagner,  have  been  drained  into  the  natural  course 


RECAPITULATION.  B85 

of  the  rivers,  and  have  disappeared  altogether.  The  coast  of 
Algeria  is  now,  on  the  whole,  more  healthy  than  the  coast  of 
Italy,  to  which  it  is  likewise  superior  in  fertility. 

The  Atlas  is  in  Algeria  not  so  much  a  mountain-range  as  a 
wide  compact  plateau,  running  parallel  with  the  coast,  occupying 
about  three-fourths  of  the  Regency,  rising  often  into  high  peaks, 
especially  near  the  coast;  being  intersected  by  a  few  large  valleys 
at  different  levels,  and  cut  through  by  some  very  narrow  ravines, 
such  as  the  Americans  call  "  cannons,"  and  the  Turks  and  Arabs 
"  iron  gates."  This  plateau  has  a  rapid  descent  towards  the 
plains  and  valleys  of  the  sea-coast,  whilst  it  slopes  more  gently 
down  towards  the  Desei-t.  Nearly  all  the  Atlas  is  suited  for 
cultivation;  forests  crown  its  head;  its  valleys  once  provided 
imperial  Rome  with  wheat,  and  offer  the  greatest  advantages  for 
cattle-breeding.  Abundant  iron,  valuable  lead  and  copper  ores, 
large  deposits  of  rock-salt,  and  beautiful  marble  and  alabaster,  are 
known  to  exist  here,  and  though  only  scantily  worked  by  the 
natives,  who  possess  no  capital  whatever,  they  have  always  been 
found  remunerative. 

The  steppes  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Atlas  are  arid  and 
barren,  being  studded  with  date-palms  only  along  the  few  rivers. 
They,  however,  contain  pasture-grounds  which  remain  green  even 
in  summer.  The  Belad-el- Jerid,  or  Kobla,  is  altogether  a  transi- 
tion to  the  great  sand-desert  of  the  Sahara,  which,  on  its  northern 
boundaries  towards  Algeria,  is  broken  by  a  few  oases,  namely, 
Tuggurt,  Wurgelah,  Gherdaia,  Ain-Maadi,  and  El-Aghuat.  All 
this^country  is  little  fit  for  agriculture;  its  population,  therefore 
—  nomade  in  the  Kobla,  industrial  and  commercial  in  the 
oases — is  altogether  dependent  on  the  Tell,  that  is  to  say,  on  the 
agricultural  district,  which  comprises  both  the  sea-coast  and  the 
Atlas.  The  southern  tribes  must  resort  from  tlm6  to  time  to 
the  northern  markets  for  corn;  they  therefore  are  used  to  say, 
"The  Tell  is  our  mother:  whoever  may  be  her  lord,  he  is  our 
father." 

According  to  this  natural  configuration  of  the  country,  which 

2  B 


386  RECAPITULATION. 

has  no  navigable  rivers — since  the  mountains,  running  in  a 
parallel  range  to  the  coast,  send  their  waters  only  from  short  dis- 
tances to  the  sea — the  principal  cities  of  Algeria  are  situated  on  the 
sea-coast,  which  offers  uninterrupted  communication  with  all  the 
world;  namely,  Arzew,  Mostagenem,  Tenez,  Shershel,  Algiers, 
Dellys,  Bujia,  Jijeli,  Collo,  Philippeville,  Bona,  and  La  Calle. 
A  second  series  of  cities,  nearly  parallel  to  the  first,  has  been  built 
in  the  centre  of  the  plateau;  namely,  Tlemsan,  Mascara,  Miliana, 
Medeah,  Orleansville,  El-Arush,  Ghelma,  Selif,  Aumale,  Con- 
stantine,  and  Lambessa.  They  are  important  in  a  military  point 
of  view,  as  they  command  all  the  mountain  and  the  southern 
steppes,  which  are  dependent  on  those  markets,  and  contain  only 
a  few  insignificant  cities,  such  as  Saida,  Sebdu,  Batna,  Boghar, 
Teniat-el-Ha^t,  and  Biscara. 

The  native  inhabitants  of  this  country  are — in  the  plains, 
Arabs ;  in  the  mountains,  Kabyles ;  in  the  cities.  Moors.  The 
Arabs  of  Algeria  are  in  language,  character,  and  habits,  like 
the  Bedouins  of  Mesopotamia.  The  Moors  are  in  all  these 
respects  like  the  Arab-talking  Mussulmans  of  the  Syrian  towns 
and  neighbouring  villages.  Accordingly,  the  Moors  are  peaceable 
towns-people  and  agriculturists ;  the  Arabs  nomadic,  pastoral, 
and  making  war  on  horseback.  The  Kabyles  are  to  the  Arabs 
what  the  Kurds  of  the  Mesopotamian  mountains  are  to  the 
races  of  the  plains,  more  ferocious  and  bloody,  differing  in  lan- 
guage and  origin,  fairer  in  complexion  and  hair,  living  in  huts, 
tilling  the  soil,  and  having  little  cavalry.  The  Kabyles,  as 
well  as  the  Arabs,  live  in  tribes :  the  feeling  of  nationality  has 
'scarcely  become  known  to  them :  they  cling  to  their  tribe  and 
its  territory  more  than  to  their  country.  The  only  tie  which  con- 
nects Moors,  Arabs,  and  Kabyles,  is  the  religion  common  to 
them  all, — Islam ;  which,  together  with  the  climate,  makes  them 
sober  in  eating  and  drinking,  and  teaches  them  to  despise  the 
luxuries  of  the  world,  and  to  strive  for  the  blessings  of  Paradise. 

iSuch  are  the  natural  conditions  of  the  people  and  the  country 
which  in  1830  were  invaded  and  occupied  by  the  French  army 


RECAPITULATION.  387 

at  the  bidding  of  a  king  who  did  not  care  for  colonization,  but 
wished  to  give  a  different  direction  to  the  spirit  of  his  incon- 
sistent people,  in  order  to  hide  his  encroachments  on  civil  liberty 
at  home  by  the  glory  of  foreign  conquest.  It  was  a  flagrant 
violation  of  the  law  of  nations.  For,  whatever  may  have  been 
the  conduct  of  the  Dey  towards  the  consul  of  France,  the  Turkish 
Sultan,  as  sovereign  of  the  country,  offered  full  reparation  to  the 
French,  and  sent,  in  November  1829,  his  plenipotentiary,  Haji 
Khalil  Effendi,  and  again  in  May  1830,  Tahir  Pasha,  to  Algiers, 
in  order  to  arrange  the  difficulties  peacefully.  But  the  French 
government  gave  no  answer  to  the  communications  of  Khalil,  and 
refused  to  admit  Tahir.  Besides,  Charles  X.  had  previously  assured 
the  English  government  that  France  had  no  intention  of  any 
territorial  aggrandizement,  and  yet  the  occupation  took  place,  and 
Louis  Philippe  kept  the  country. 

The  ruling  power  of  Algeria  was  at  that  time  a  foreign  militia ; 
in  fact,  Turkish  janissaries,  recruiting  their  numbers  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Turkey,  and  forming  here  in  Barbary  a  kind  of 
military  republic  among  themselves,  with  an  elective  chief.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Mohammedan  principles  of  administration,  they 
allowed  to  the  inhabitants  full  liberty  of  local  self-government : 
they  did  not  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  Arab  and  Kabyle  tribes 
beyond  the  exaction  of  a  moderate  tribute,  and  the  repression  of 
outrages  against  the  ruling  power,  or  against  other  tribes.  In 
such  cases,  they  held  the  whole  tribe  responsible  for  every  indi- 
vidual belonging  to  it,  according  to  the  primitive  principle  of  the 
''  frank  pledge."  In  order  to  facilitate  such  an  exercise  of  their 
supremacy,  they  had  garrisoned  the  principal  cities,  in  which 
they  invariably  built  or  occupied  a  citadel,  called  either  Kasbah 
or  Meshuar.  Another  means  of  power  was  their  auxiliaries  in 
the  Arab  tribes  ;  in  fact,  young  men  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of  the 
Turkish  militia,  and  receiving  regular  pay  as  often  as  they  were 
summoned  to  give  assistance  to  the  janissaries.  This  institution, 
called  Makhsen,  resembled  in  some  respect  the  Landwehr  of 
Prussia.   The  "  laissez  /aire  "  principle  was  carried  to  the  broadest 


388  RECAPITULATION. 

extent ;  for  internal  improvements,  drainage,  irrigation,  or  roads, 
nothing  was  done  by  the  Government.  But  the  tribes  were  con- 
tented with  that  rule  which  maintained  peace,  repressed  shocking 
outrages,  and  did  not  interfere  with  the  daily  life  of  the  natives. 
The  towns-people  were  less  happy.  Industrial  enterprise  was 
fettered,  since  the  Deys  and  Beys  clung  to  the  system  of  mono- 
polies and  of  privileged  corporations,  which  enrich  but  a  few 
lucky  speculators.  Those  monopolists  became  in  their  turn  a 
mark  to  the  hatred  of  the  less  fortunate  citizens,  and  to  the  cupi- 
dity of  the  chief;  and  therefore,  whenever  the  State  was  in  finan- 
cial embarrassments,  the  rich  were  imprisoned  or  killed,  and  had 
to  disgorge  their  gains  into  the  treasury  of  the  Dey,  or  of  the 
subordinate  Beys,  without  exciting  sympathy  in  the  crowd. 
The  rule  of  the  janissaries,  though  stupid  in  details,  was,  on  the 
whole,  not  unpopular  with  the  natives.  The  French  did  not 
know  that ;  and  in  the  belief  that  the  Turks  were  equally  hated, 
as  oppressors,  by  the  Moorish  and  Jewish  towns-people,  the  nomade 
Arabs,  and  agricultural  Kabyles,  felt  greatly  surprised  when,  after 
the  downfall  of  the  Dey,  they  were  not  hailed  as  liberators  by 
the  population  of  Algeria,  and  met,  on  the  contrary,  with  fanatical 
resistance.  Without  being  able  to  enforce  their  own  rule — de- 
void of  organizing  genius,  and  detesting  local  self-government — 
the  conquerors,  by  banishing  the  Turks,  only  removed  the  police 
of  the  country  :  they  let  loose  all  the  passions  of  enmity  between 
the  tribes,  and  disorganized  the  Regency,  which  fell  into  a  state 
of  anarchy  and  civil  war.  Religion  alone  could  stop  the  carnage ; 
and  a  cunning  and  gallant  young  Arab  chief,  belonging  to  a 
family  of  saints,  the  celebrated  Abd-el-Kader,  made  use  of  the 
religious  feeling  of  the  Kabyles  and  Bedouins  to  raise  an  Arab 
empire  in  the  west.  The  short-sightedness  and  corruption  of  the 
French  generals  did  not  fail  to  afford  him  that  moral  assistance 
by  which  he  soon  overcame  all  opposition  from  the  secular  chiefs 
of  his  race. 

"rtie  French,   in  truth,   did  not  know  what  to  do  with  their 
conquest.     When  Louis  Philippe  and  the  reign  of  the  monied 


RECAPITULATION.  389 

classes  had  succeeded  to  Charles  X.,  they  had  neither  the  moral 
courage  to  give  up  a  territory  which  was  got  by  a  violation  of 
right  and  of  solemn  pledges,  and  which  daily  required  greater 
sacrifices;  nor  had  they  the  energy  to  complete  and  so  organize  the 
conquest.  Algiers  was  regarded  as  a  place  for  drilling  the  army, 
for  maintaining  its  prowess,  and  for  punishing  the  republican 
battalions  by  sending  them  against  the  enemy.  The  government 
of  Algeria  served  again  for  getting  rid  of  the  military  chiefs  who 
might  have  become  obnoxious  to  France.  Indeed,  the  system 
by  which  Louis  Philippe  expected  to  be  able  to  found  a  lasting 
power  was  :  to  put  off  the  more  eminent  men  in  authority,  whilst 
crippling  their  resources,  by  coquetting  with  their  opponents ;  and 
in  this  way,  emasculating  the  Government  and  the  opposition,  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  great  national  parties,  such  as  are  based 
on  principles,  and  fostering,  at  the  same  time,  the  selfishness  and 
the  pocket-interests  of  the  people.  In  the  first  ten  years  of  his 
reign,  the  citizen-king  changed  his  ministers  continually  in 
France,  and  his  commanders-in-chief  and  governors-general  in 
Algeria.  The  Regency  was,  from  1830  to  1840,  administered  by 
eight  different  governors.  Marshal  Bourmont  not  included :  none 
of  them,  therefore,  had  time  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  his  task,  and  perfect  his  system  of  administration.  It  was 
only  in  the  last  eight  years  of  the  king  that  he  clung  pertinaci- 
ously in  France  to  Guizot,  and  in  Algeria  to  Bugeaud, — one  a 
philosophical  courtier,  the  other  a  rough  soldier  ;  both  cunning, 
energetic  centralizers,  affecting  Roman  virtue  and  incorrupti- 
bility; thinking  themselves  better  and  wiser  than  the  rest  of 
their  countrymen,  and  therefore  feeling  the  deepest  contempt  for 
public  opinion  ;  talking  constitutionalism,  whilst  leaning  towards 
despotism  ;  haters  of  any  form  of  local  self-government.  They 
were  men  after  the  heart  of  Louis  Philippe.  Of  course  the 
ephemeral  empire  of  Abd-el-Kader  was  soon  broken  up  by  Bu- 
geaud, who  was  constantly  supplied  with  an  army  of  100,000 
French  soldiers ;  and  the  genius  of  the  young  Arab  had  to  submit 
to  the  disciplined  forces  and  the  never-failing  resources  of  France. 


390  RECAPITULATION. 

His  able  and  successful  resistance  during  the  first  period  of  the 
French  dominion  in  Algeria,  the  righteousness  of  his  cause, 
and  the  romance  of  his  captivity,  have  surrounded  his  name  with 
a  halo  of  poetry.  Abd-el-Kader  is  really  a  great  man :  he  fought 
for  the  independence  of  his  country;  he  displayed  remarkable 
talent  for  diplomacy;  he  overreached  all  the  French  generals  in 
his  negotiations;  he  did  not  lack  the  organizing  genius,  so  rare 
in  our  century ;  his  family  life  was  pure,  and  his  character  not 
stained  by  avarice.  Though  less  cruel  than  his  Arabs  and 
Kabyles,  and  far  more  magnanimous  than  all  those  chiefs  and 
princes  who  have  based  their  power  on  religious  fanaticism,  he  is 
still  not  free  from  blame.  The  murder  of  Bethuna,  the  inoffensive 
Kabyle  chief  of  Arzew,  throws  a  shadow  on  the  character  of  the 
Emir  ;  his  boundless  ambition  led  him  to  the  unprovoked  attack 
on  the  state  of  Ain-Maadi,  where  he  spent  his  energies  and  re- 
sources for  no  practical  purpose ;  and  again  it  was  bis  ambition 
which  made  him  forget  the  gratitude  due  to  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco:  this  put  him  in  antagonism  with  his  protector,  and 
caused  his  final  overthrow  and  captivity.  He  is  now  the  pensioner 
of  France,  and  the  French  have  scarcely  any  serious  resistance 
now  to  anticipate  in  Algeria.  They  have  occupied  all  the  prin- 
cipal towns  of  the  Regency,  and  their  sway  is  acknowledged 
by  all  the  Arab  tribes.  The  Kabyles  south  of  Bujia  and  on  the 
Tafna  may  still  from  time  to  time  annoy  the  lords  of  the  country, 
and  try  to  throw  off  the  foreign  yoke  which  but  slightly  oppresses 
them ;  but  their  resistance  will  always  be  easily  crushed,  and  they 
cannot  hope  to  escape  the  grasp  of  France.  The  war  has  entirely 
come  to  an  end  with  the  defeat  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and  even  the 
hopes  of  any  later  successful  insurrection  have  been  extinguished 
by  his  surrender,  since  no  other  chief  can  start  with  the  enormous 
prestige  of  the  Emir,  and  even,  if  partially  successful,  would  soon 
be  put  down  by  the  jealousy  of  the  other  chiefs.  The  Regency 
has  been  definitively  conquered  and  pacified  since  1848.  From 
that  time,  it  has  had  no  other  enemie,;?  than  the  Oases-States. 


RECAPITULATION.  391 

Ain-Maadi,  El-Aghuat,  and  Gherdala,  have  been  already  sub- 
jected :  Tuggurt  and  Wurgelah  have  alone  i?emained  independent. 
The  French  nation  has  spent,  in  twenty-three  years,  between 
seventy  and  eighty  millions  sterling  on  the  conquest  and  coloniza- 
tion of  Algeria;  and  this  expenditure  is  one  of  the  main  sources 
of  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  country,  being  the  principal 
cause  of  the  continuous  deficits  in  the  budget,  since  the  Regency 
absorbed  one  hundred  million  francs  a- year  ever  since  1840,  prin- 
cipally for  maintaining  an  army  of  100,000  men  in  the  field. 
What  has  been  achieved  by  such  an  outlay  ?  and  is  there  any  pro- 
bability of  a  return  for  such  sacrifices  ?    These  are  the  questions 
which  every  economist  puts  to  the  historian.     Statistical  figures 
answer  sufficiently.     There  are,  according  to  the  census  of  1852, 
124,400  European  colonists  in  Algeria;    69,980  of  them  being 
Frenchmen,  the  remainder  Spaniards  (35,130),  Italians,  Maltese, 
Germans,  Irish,  and  Poles.     Of  the  European  population,  80,142 
live  in  towns,  and  only  44,258  in  the  country,  of  which  about 
32,000   are  agriculturists.      Ireland,    with   its  six   millions   of 
wretched  inhabitants,   sends,  in   one   year,  more   emigrants   to 
America,  than  France,  with  its  thirty-six  millions,  has  sent  in  a 
score  of  years  across  the  Mediterranean.     Algeria  has  not  re- 
lieved the  mother  country  of  her  pauper  population,  and  the 
emigration  has  not  promoted,  in  any  way,  the  wtII -being  of  the 
working  classes,  either  in  France,  by  draining  off  their  surplus, 
and  causing  a  rise  of  the  wages ;  or  in  the  colony,  by  establishing 
there  a  numerous,  happy,  agricultural  people.     According  to  the 
above  cited  figures,  one-third  only  of  the  European  population  of 
Algeria  live  in  the  country,  two-thirds  are  publicans,  hotel  and 
coffee-house  keepers,  traders,  and  servants  in  the  towns,  living 
principally  upon  the  immense  government  expenditure ;  so  that 
nearly  one  half  of  them  might  be  justly  called  camp-followers, 
since,  as  soon  as  the  African  army,  which  even  now  amounts  to 
65,000  men,  is  reduced  to  a  more  reasonable  figure — as  soon  as 
the  army-officers,  whose  pay  goes  into  the  pockets  of  the  French 


392  RECAPITULATION. 

town  population,  leave  Africa,  all  those  jobbers  and  shopkeepers 
and  publicans  will  retire  with  them  to  France.  And  even  the 
32,000  so-called  agriculturists  do  not  belong  to  that  sturdy  race 
which  forms  new  prosperous  states  in  the  wilderness  of  the  far 
west  in  North  America;  one-third  of  them  are  gardeners,  who 
have  planted  themselves  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
those  towns  where  there  is  a  permanent  French  garrison,  in  order 
to  provide  them  with  vegetables  and  fruits,  and  thus  depend  en- 
tirely on  the  army. 

But  it  would  be  unjust  to  pass  a  severe  judgment  on  the 
French  nation  as  unfit  for  colonization,  on  account  of  the  want  of 
success  of  their  African  plantation  in  the  first  tw^enty  years.  The 
Government  has  done  much,  one  may  say,  more  than  that  of  any 
other  country,  for  the  future  welfare  of  the  colony.  A  net  of 
high-roads  has  been  constructed  all  over  the  Regency,  in  order  to 
connect  the  different  towns  and  camps  of  Algeria;  and  though  it 
was  originally  from  a  strategical  point  of  view  that  it  was  con- 
structed, still  its  benefit  extends  to  all  classes  of  inhabitants,  and 
even  the  natives  have  learned  already  the  importance  of  cheap 
communication.  It  is  an  every-day's  occurrence  to  see  wild 
Hajutes  and  ragged  Kabyles  in  the  stage-coaches  which  run  in 
every  direction  from  Algiers  over  the  Metija,  and  across  the 
Atlas.  Great  works  of  drainage  and  of  irrigation  have  been  com- 
menced, and  are  carried  on  with  vigour  in  the  plains  around 
Algiers,  Bona,  Constantine,  Mascara,  and  Oran;  and  Bugeaud 
has,  by  his  schemes  of  irrigation  in  the  plain  of  the  Sig,  raised  for 
himself  a  more  lasting  monument  than  by  the  treaty  of  the 
Tafna  and  the  battle  of  Isly.  On  the  whole,  the  French  have  to 
contend  in  Algiers  with  more  serious  difficulties  than  either  the 
Americans  in  the  west,  or  the  English  in  Australia  and  New 
Zealand.  The  natives  of  Algeria  are  more  numerous  than  the 
aborigines  of  any  district  of  equal  extent  in  America  or  Australia; 
besides,  they  are  more  civilized.  They  do  not  belong  to  a  decay- 
ing race,  which  wastes  away  by  the  very  contact  with  the  intruding 
superior  race  and  its  vices.  They  are  partly  shepherds,  partly  agri- 


RECAPITULATION.  393 

culturists ;  not  hunter-tribes,  such  as  must  follow  the  buffalo  into  the 
wilderness,  as  soon  as  the  noise  and  bustle  of  colonization  drives 
the  game  from  their  territory.  The  Arabs  and  Kabyles  have 
long  ago  taken  possession  of  the  country,  and  every  tribe  has  its 
well-defined  territory.  With  their  numbers  and  their  energies,  it 
would  be  too  dangerous  for  the  French  to  enforce  the  bold  and 
barbarous  principle,  that  all  the  former  titles  have  become  void 
and  merged  into  the  right  of  conquest,  and  that  the  land  has 
become  vested  in  the  government  of  the  conquering  nation.  The 
natives  of  Algeria  being  sober,  some  paltry  presents  and  a  great 
deal  of  intoxicating  spirits  cannot  induce  them  to  sell  their  heir- 
dom and  the  resting-places  of  their  fathers.  The  Kabyles  of  the 
mountains  have  tilled  nearly  all  that  portion  of  the  Atlas  which 
can  be  tilled  with  profit;  and  if  the  plains  look  deserted  and 
uncultivated,  we  should  not  forget  that,  to  live  by  cattle-grazing, 
requires  more  room  than  to  produce  food  by  agriculture.  It  is 
true  that  bye  and  bye  the  Bedouins  might  be  induced,  by  the 
prospect  of  greater  income,  to  till  the  ground,  to  live  in  fixed 
settlements,  and  to  sell  the  territory  then  sensibly  superfluous ; 
but  a  population  which  has  but  few  wants,  is  little  inclined  to  the 
more  toilsome  life  of  the  agriculturist  and  of  the  mechanic,  and 
to  exchange  its  unbounded  freedoni  for  some  ignoble  comforts. 
Until  now,  therefore,  only  the  neighbourhood  of  the  cities  has 
been  open  for  colonization,  since  only  the  Moors  easily  parted 
with  their  land,  principally  in  the  first  epoch  of  the  French  domi- 
nion, when,  acted  upon  by  religious  fanaticism,  they  emigrated 
into  the  interior,  without  caring  for  their  property.  No  doubt, 
the  public  domain  of  the  Deys  and  Beys,  which  has  been  re- 
asserted by  the  French,  contains  many  estates,  but  they  are 
surrounded  by  the  territories  of  the  tribes.  Though  large  in 
extent,  they  do  not  lie  in  contiguity,  and  are,  therefore,  always 
exposed  to  the  inroads  and  robberies  of  Bedouins  and  Kabyles. 
They  do  not  allure  colonists,  for  European  settlers  do  not  like  such 
neighbours.  Large  areas  have  been  acquired  by  drainage ;  swamps 
have  been  filled  up;  and  waste  land,  which,  from  the  luxuriance 


394  RECAPITULATION. 

of  the  dwarf-palm,  is  unfit  for  pasture  grounds,  may  be  occupied 
by  industrious  settlers :  but,  on  the  whole,  the  land  is  not  in  a 
condition  which  might  induce  wealthy  colonists  to  settle  thereon. 

The  national  character  of  France  is  likewise  very  different  from 
that  of  England  or  America.  The  French,  like  all  the  Celtic  races, 
cling  more  to  their  native  soil  than  the  Anglo-Briton ;  and  there 
are  no  greater  political  rights  held  out  in  Algeria  for  the  agricul- 
tural paupers,  which  might  allure  them  to  cross  the  sea.  On 
the  contrary,  Algeria  is  dependent  on  the  ministry  at  war :  it  is 
always  in  an  exceptional  position;  the  sword  rules  as  yet  in 
Africa,  and  the  rights  of  the  civilians  are  not  sufficiently  guaran- 
teed against  the  arbitrary  sway  of  the  military  officers. 

The  domain  of  the  French  government  contains  now  390,600 
hectares  of  land,  of  which  160,000  are  in  the  province  of  Con- 
stantino, principally  around  Bona;  183,000  in  the  provinces  of 
Oran  and  Algiers,  the  old  domain  of  the  Deys;  to  which  were 
added  above  100,000  hectares,  which  formerly  belonged  to  the 
tribe  of  the  Beni-Ammer,  in  the  province  of  Oran,  having  been 
confiscated  when  this  tribe  followed  Abd-el-Kader  to  Morocco. 

From  1830  to  1847,  about  48,000  hectares  of  the  domain  were 
either  sold  or  granted  away  to  colonists.  The  Republic  again 
Issued  different  grants  to  the  extent  of  22,000  hectares,  whilst 
250,000  hectares  have  been  purchased  by  European  speculators 
from  the  natives.  But  of  this  great  expanse  bought  from  the 
natives,  scarcely  more  than  20,000  hectares  are  really  under  cul- 
ture. The  domain  not  yet  granted  away  is  likewise  uncultivated, 
except  to  a  small  extent  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
camps,  where  the  soldiers  work  the  fields  and  mow  the  meadows. 
Only  a  small  portion  of  the  domain-fields  in  the  province  of 
Constantine  is  leased  out  to  natives.  The  land,  therefore, 
available  for  purposes  of  colonization,  amounts  to  about  640,000 
hectares,  but  scarcely  50,000  hectares  are  really  cultivated,  the 
meadows  included,  which  do  not  require  any  other  culture  than 
mowing,  or  an)'-  other  care  than  that  of  keeping  the  cattle  out 
of  them. 


RECAPITULATION.  395 

Now,  In  order  to  shdw  tlie  proportion  of  these  figures  to  the 
whole  extent  of  Algeria,  we  must  remember  that,  according  to  the 
statistical  accounts  of  1846,  the  extent  of  the  Tell — that  Is  to  say, 
of  the  coast  and  of  the  Atlas,  the  arid  steppes  of  the  Belad-el- 
Jerid,  and  the  oases  of  the  Sahara  not  included — was  estimated 
at  15,400,000  French  hectares,  which  were  classified  in  the  fol- 
lowing way : —  % 


Arable  land  actually  tilled  by  natives  and  Europeans, 

Meadows  which  can  be  mowed, 

Pasture  grounds,  .  .  .  . 

Forests  available  for  timber, 
Forests  injured  by  fire  and  thickets. 
Extent  covered  by  shrubs  and  dwarf-palms, 
Land  overflooded  in  winter  and  spring,  but  affording  good  pasi 
in  summer,  ..... 

Swamps,  ...... 

Barren  rocks,  sand,  lakes,  and  rivers. 


770,000 
770,000 

4,38.9,000 
115,500 
169,400 

3,696,000 

231,000 

23,000 

5,236,000 

15,400,000 


On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  results  of  the  colonization  are  not 
very  splendid  as  regards  agriculture.  Not  one- tenth  of  the  ground 
available  for  culture  has  as  yet  been  taken  up,  though  France  has 
spent  millions  upon  millions  to  advance  the  welfare  of  the  colony. 
Indeed,  thirty- four  places  have  been  fortified,  barracks  have  been 
constructed  for  70,000  soldiers  and  for  20,000  horses,  and  hospi- 
tals for  12,000  invalids,  to  the  extent  of  £2,500,000.  We  have 
already  mentioned  the  net  of  high-roads,  and  the  works  of  drainage 
and  irrigation ;  many  old  Roman  aqueducts  have  been  repaired, 
new  ones  built.  Immense  works  undertaken  for  the  extension  and 
safety  of  the  ports  of  Algiers  and  Bona,  churches,  mosques,  foun- 
tains, hospitals,  orphan-houses,  schools,  bridges,  light-houses,  and 
wharfs  raised,  and  villages  constructed.  The  sums  spent  in  this 
way  amounted,  according  to  the  French  Blue-books,  to  above 
£4,600,000.  Above  £7,000,000  sterling,  have  therefore  been 
expended  with  lavish  hands  for  works  of  public  utility  in  Algeria 
in  the  course  of  twenty  years.  The  sacrifices  of  France  were 
great,  but  the  present  generation  will  scarcely  get  a  fair  return 


396 


RECAPITULATION. 


for  them,  as,  according  to  the  budget  of  1849,  the  income  of 
Algeria  was  the  following,  in  round  numbers: — 


1.  Direct  taxes, 

2.  Stamp-duty,  and  income  from  the  domain, 

3.  Forests,  salt,  and  import-duty, 

4.  Post-office, 

5.  Tribute  of  the  Arabs, 

6.  From  different  sources, 

7.  Local  municipal  taxes, 


£16,400 

138,000 

134,000 

33,000 

82,000 

34,000 

200,000 


£637,400 

Whilst  the  expenditure  was  the  following 

:— 

Army,            ...... 

£2,160,000 

Military  constructions,            .             .             .             . 

180,000 

Administration,         .               .             .             .             . 

980,000 

Public  worship  and  education, 

22,000 

The  judiciary,              .             .             .             .             . 

25,000 

Post-office,  custom-houses,  &c. 

41,000 

Plantation  of  new  agricultural  settlements. 

400,000 

Local  and  municipal  expenditure. 

200,000 

Total, 

£4,008,000 

The  deficit,  therefore,  amounted  to 


£3,370,600 


We  see,  then,  that  Algeria  has  surely  no  right  to  complain  of  the 
stinginess  of  the  mother  country;  yet  in  spite  of  the  immense  ex- 
penditure for  securing  the  welfare  of  the  colony,  the  colonists  did 
not,  as  was  expected,  appear  in  crowds  in  the  beautiful  country, 
which  is  only  at  two  days'  distance  from  France.  The  Government 
has  made  easy  grants  of  large  extent  to  capitalists,  under  the  con- 
dition of  settling  a  certain  number  of  families  on  the  estates,  and  of 
building  houses  for  them,  and  providing  them  with  the  means  of 
living  on  their  first  arrival.  In  vain  has  the  administration  sent 
over  the  paupers  of  France,  built  villages,  bought  all  the  necessary 
agricultural  tools  and  cattle,  and  even  cleared  the  ground  for  them 
by  soldiers;  in  vain  have  the  veterans  got  land- warrants  for  their 
military  services;  in  vain  have  religious  and  socialist  communities 
been  planted  in  theMetija  and  on  the  Sig,  and  political  offenders  sent 


RECAPITULATION.  397 

over  to  Lambessa  on  the  Aur^s.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  francs 
have  been  spent,  and  yet  the  result,  as  regards  the  increase  of 
population,  is  smaller  than  in  any  of  the  new  States  of  America, 
or  in  any  of  the  agricultural  colonies  of  England.  The  reason  is 
palpable,  though  the  French  do  not  seem  to  understand  it:  the 
French  Government  meddles  too  much  in  the  affairs  of  the  colo- 
nists, even  more  than  the  English  Colonial  Office,  and  does  not 
allow  the  action  of  local  self-government ;  the  colonists,  therefore, 
rely  entirely  on  the  Government,  and  do  not  exert  their  own 
energies.  It  is  over-nursing  which  chokes  the  African  plantation. 
As  to  the  natives,  they  have  been  greatly  benefited  by  the 
French  conquest.  Before  1830,  the  price  of  a  bull  in  Algiers 
was  about  sixteen  shillings,  a  sheep  was  sold  at  two  shillings,  a 
hundred  of  eggs  or  a  hundred  of  oranges  cost  sixpence,  and  a 
quarter  of  wheat  could  be  had  at  twenty-six  shillings.  To-day 
the  prices  are  about  the  same  as  those  of  Europe :  the  income  of 
the  tribes  has  therefore  been  considerably  increased.  Many 
Kabyles,  Biskaris,  and  Mozabites,  have  been  attracted  by  the 
high  wages  into  the  cities,  and  the  Arabs  throng  to  the  fairs  with 
their  agricultural  products.  They  begin  to  become  acquainted, 
little  by  little,  with  the  comforts  of  European  life,  and  they  pos- 
sess the  means  of  buying  them.  They  have  not  yet  given  up  the 
habit  of  hoarding;  but  as  soon  as  they  shall  become  aware  of  the 
security  which  they  enjoy  under  French  supremacy,  they  will 
spend  the  treasures  which  they  formerly  hid.  They  have  already 
become  the  wealthiest  Mussulman  population  in  the  world :  more- 
over, the  wealth  has  been  diffused  among  them  generally ;  it  is 
not  only  the  chiefs,  but  all  the  members  of  the  tribes  who  grow 
rich.  It  is  impossible  that  such  a  change  should  not  engender 
great  results  in  their  social  condition;  so  much  the  more,  as  in  all 
the  cities  Arab  schools  have  been  established  by  the  French 
Government  for  the  natives,  and  two  Mussulman  colleges  have 
been  endowed  in  Algiers  and  Constantino.  Since  the  French 
have  no  proselytizing  tendencies,  the  children  of  the  Jews  and 
Moors,  and  even  of  many  Arab  Marabuts,  attend  those  schools 


398  RECAPITULATION. 

assiduously.  Even  the  female  schools  found  Mussulman  pupils, 
as  soon  as  the  parents  became  convinced  that  the  children  were 
not  Christianized,  and  that  no  interference  was  attempted  with 
their  religious  convictions. 

As  to  the  way  in  which  the  natives  are  governed,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  towns — that  is  to  say,  Moors,  Jews,  and  the  temporary 
population  of  Kabyles  and  Biskaris — are,  of  course,  under  the 
French  centralizing  administration,  which  is  still  more  stringent 
in  Algeria  than  in  France,  but  less  arbitrary  than  was  occasionally 
that  of  the  Janissaries.  The  Kabyles,  on  the  other  hand,  are  as 
free  as  they  ever  have  been :  they  owe  only  nominal  allegiance  to 
France;  their  phiefs,  elected  by  the  tribes,  appear  once  a-year 
before  the  French  commanders,  who  do  not  fail  to  give  them  the 
investiture,  being  unable  to  control  them  efficiently.  Many  of 
the  mountain  tribes  bear  even  that  token  of  subjection  indig- 
nantly; nearly  all  the  disturbances  since  the  downfal  of  Abd-el- 
Kader  occurred  in  "  Great  Kabylia" — that  is  to  say,  the  moun- 
tain-range around  Bujia  and  Jijelli,  or  farther  east  on  the  plateau 
called  by  the  French  "  Little  Kabylia."  But  the  severe  chas- 
tisement which  never  failed  to  follow  any  outrage  or  defiance  of 
French  authority,  has  broken  the  spirit  of  resistance,  even  in  the 
fastnesses  of  the  Jurjura,  French  columns  having,  in  1851  and 
1852,  scoured  nearly  all  the  mountains  which  were  deemed  inac- 
cessible up  to  that  period.  The  Arab  tribes  of  the  Belad-el- Jerid 
are  likewise  but  nominally  subjects  of  France;  but  even  the  oases 
of  Ain-Maadi  and  of  El- Aghuat  have  acknowledged  French  sove- 
reignty ;  only  the  Beni-Mozab  and  the  inhabitants  of  Tuggurt 
and  Wurgelah  remained  independent.  But  the  Mozabites  court 
already  the  friendship  of  France,  well  aware  that  their  remoteness 
from  the  coast  could  scarcely  protect  them  any  longer  from  being 
annexed  to  the  Regency,  in  case  of  hostilities.  The  Sherif  of 
Wurgelah  alone  remains  an  enemy  to  France,  and  often  harasses 
the  tribes  which  have  made  their  submission  to  the  "  Rummis." 

The  administration  of  the  Arabs  in  the  Tell  is  now  a  compro- 
mise between  the  old  traditional  self-government  of  the  tribes  and 


RECAPITULATION.  399 

French  centralization.     M.  Cocliut,  a  distinguished  French  econo- 
mist, describes  it  in  the  following  way  : — 

"  France  governs  the  Algerine  tribes  by  about  one  hundred 
native  agents,  who  receive  regular  pay  from  the  Government. 
Seven  of  them  bear  the  title  of  Khalifas,  sixty-one  are  Aghas, 
twenty  Kaids.  Those  officials  are  a  sort  of  commissioners,  trans- 
mitting to  the  tribes  and  executing  the  orders  of  the  French 
authorities  ;  they  are  the  natural  chiefs  of  that  Mussulman  militia 
which  is  bound  to  take  up  arms  within  the  territory  of  their  tribes 
in  case  of  emergency.  They  assess  and  collect  the  taxes ;  they 
enforce  the  fines ;  they  inquire  into  crimes,  and  punish  them ; 
they  are  the  guides  of  the  French  troops.  Their  principal  means 
of  action  lies  in  the  superintendence  of  the  fairs,  since  in  those 
countries  the  fairs  are  political  assemblies,  which  bring  together 
the  nomade  population.  It  is  only  at  the  fairs  that  the  Kaids 
and  Aghas  can  enforce  the  payment  of  the  tribute  when  it  is  not 
voluntarily  given,  since  the  necessity  of  exchanging  the  products 
of  industry  for  corn,  forces  even  the  Kabyles  and  Saharians  to 
appear  in  the  markets. 

"The  Khalifas,  Aghas,  and  Kaids,  are  appointed  by  the 
Governor- General,  on  the  presentation  of  the  commanders  of  the 
provinces,  who  have  previously  to  inquire  into  the  merits  of  the 
individuals  to  be  presented,  of  the  native  and  French  agents  of 
the  different  localities.  The  local  Sheikhs  and  Kadis  of  the  tribes 
appear  every  year  at  the  seat  of  the  Provisional  Government,  and 
receive  their  investiture.  By  this  means  the  French  are  able  to 
control  the  loyalty  of  the  tribes.  In  the  time  of  the  Deys,  the 
Sheikhs  had  to  give  presents  to  the  Beys  for  their  investitures ; 
the  French,  on  the  contrary,  give  a  regular  pay  to  those  chiefs, 
since  they  are  regarded  as  imperial  officials. 

"  The  French  agents  enforce  their  authority  by  the  auxiliaries 
and  the  militia.  The  auxiliaries,  who  are  called  Makhsen,  are 
tribes  in  the  pay  of  France,  obliged  to  take  the  field  at  the  first 
summons.  They  get  £7,  8s.  a-year  per  head,  and  £10  for  every 
killed  horse;  in  case  of  a  regular  campaign,  they  are  entitled  to 


400  RECAPITULATION. 

an  extra  pay.  There  are  three  such  auxiliary  tribes  in  the 
province  of  Algiers,  and  three  in  the  province  of  Oran ;  in  Con- 
stantine,  the  raost  peaceful  of  the  provinces,  the  French  have  no 
need  of  auxiliaries.  The  native  militia,  or  constabulary,  are 
either  Khialas  (horsemen)  or  Askers  (footmen) :  they  live  upon 
their  fields  or  among  the  tribes,  and  must  give  assistance  to  the 
French  agent.  The  horsemen  among  them  get  tenpence  a-day, 
the  constables  on  foot,  fivepence.  Their  number  amounts  over  all 
the  Regency  to  one  thousand  eight  hundred  men. 

"  At  the  head  of  the  administration  of  the  natives  are  the 
Bureaux  Arabes,  thirty-four  in  number.  They  are  presided  over 
by  officers  of  all  grades,  from  the  colonel  to  the  lieutenant,  accord- 
ing to  the  importance  of  the  locality.  Those  officials  are  required 
to  be  thorough  business  men,  conversant  with  the  Arabic,  endowed 
both  with  resolution  and  with  good- will  towards  the  natives.  They 
have  to  be  arbitrators,  but  such  as  shall  give  weight  to  their 
award  by  the  sword.  Their  powers  are  entirely  discretionary,  and 
are  subject  to  no  other  control  than  the  superintendence  of  the 
higher  commanders.  They  have  to  inquire  into  the  necessities  of 
the  natives,  to  make  known  their  complaints,  to  superintend  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  the  tribute,  and  to  decide  all  the  matters 
of  the  tribes  which  are  brought  before  them ;  they  control  the  native 
Sheikhs;  they  prepare  the  means  of  conveyance  for  European 
troops ;  and,  principally,  they  give  any  information  required  to 
the  central  administration.  From  fortnight  to  fortnight  they 
have  to  report  about  everything  occurring  with  the  tribes,  which 
might  be  interesting  and  valuable  to  know.  Therefore  every  Kaid 
is  obliged  to  keep  a  record  of  all  the  news  in  circulation  among 
his  tribe,  according  to  certain  queries  which  he  has  to  put  to  the 
Sheikhs  under  his  control.  The  French  officer  inspects  those 
records,  and  prepares  the  report  for  the  Bureau.  Each  tribe 
has  here  its  separate  book,  showing  the  principal  leading  facts 
concerning  the  tribe — its  population,  the  extent  of  its  territory ; 
its  wealth  in  cattle,  horses,  and  corn  ;  its  state  of  feeling  to- 
wards France  and  the  neighbouring  tribes.     Those  books  give  the 


RECAPITULATION.  401 

statistical  information  which  becomes  the  basis  for  fixing  the 
tribute. 

"  It  was  not  originally  contemplated  that  the  Bureaux  Arabes 
should  be  courts  of  justice;  however,  many  cases  are  brought 
before  them,  and  the  officers  act  as  arbitrators,  from  whose  award 
there  is  no  appeal." 

As  the  Bureaux  Arabes  afford  the  French  officers  an  oppor- 
tunity for  distinguishing  themselves,  but  do  not  offer  such  pecu- 
niary advantages  as  might  induce  them  to  cling  for  ever  to  their 
post,  the  service  has  been  until  now  always  prompt,  zealous,  and 
effective,  sometimes  perhaps  violent,  but  on  the  whole  just ;  and 
we  know  that  primitive  populations  do  not  resent  occasional  arbi- 
trary measures,  if,  on  the  whole,  the  administration  of  justice  is 
prompt,  and  not  corrupt.  The  Arabs  of  Algeria,  therefore,  place 
confidence  in  the  Bureaux  Arabes;  they  call  the  presiding  officers 
"  sons  of  power,"  and  feel  no  distrust  of  them. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  may  justly  state  that  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  lot  of  the  Algerine  Arabs  has  been  the  result  of  their 
conquest  by  France ;  and  if  European  colonization  has  not  as  yet 
succeeded  in  proportion  to  the  enormous  sacrifice  of  the  mother 
country,  the  increased  wealth  and  civilization  of  the  natives  might, 
at  a  not  very  distant  period,  make  Algeria  a  valuable  acquisition 
to  France,  and  rouse  a  spirit  in  the  Mussulman  population  which 
should  tend  to  a  higher  development  and  revival  of  energies  among 
the  millions  belonging  to  that  creed. 

Such  are  the  results  of  the  rule  of  France  in  Algeria.  In 
a  moral  point  of  view,  the  French  have  some  right  to  be  satis- 
fied with  them,  principally,  when  contrasting  what  they  have  done 
in  twenty-three  years  with  England's  century  in  India.  There, 
too,  the  country  was  chiefly  under  Mussulman  rule  when  the 
Christians  came  in ;  there,  too,  the  new  lords  w^ere  pushed  by  the 
force  of  events  to  new  conquests,  until  all  the  native  princes  were 
deprived  of  their  countries,  or  at  least  of  their  full  sovereignty ; 
there,  too,  the  wars  between  the  tribes  and  principalities  have 

ceased  ever  since  the  extinction  of  national  independence:  the 
2  c 


402  RECAPITULATION. 

conquerors  secured  peace  to  the  conquered  population.  But  here 
the  comparison  stops.  Military  men  have  governed  Algeria, 
little  caring  for  the  financial  sacrifices  of  the  mother  country,  but 
deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  new  dominion,  and  there- 
fore often  lavish  in  the  expenditure  for  public  purposes.  India  is 
governed  by  civilians,  yet  military  men  are  always  powerful 
enough  to  entangle  the  Government  in  wars,  which  lead  to  fresh 
acquisitions ;  but  when  the  generals  take  any  steps  towards  the 
improvement  of  the  acquired  territories,  they  all  invariably  fail  to 
overcome  the  mercantile  spirit  of  the  real  sovereigns  of  the  country, 
and  the  short-sighted  routine  of  the  administration,  which  does  not 
care  for  the  future.  In  fact,  the  Indian  Government  is  an  admi- 
nistration by  civilians,  but  of  such  as  are  appointed  by  a  company 
of  merchants,  which  has  no  other  interest  in  the  country  than  that 
of  a  regular  moderate  income  from  the  capital  invested  in  the  East 
India  stocks.  They  do  not  like  to  expend  large  sums  for  works  of 
public  utility  of  which  the  return  is  not  immediate.  In  order  to 
avoid  a  temporary  outlay,  they  allow  the  embankments  of  the 
rivers,  the  canals,  and  the  tanks  to  decay,  and  the  old  palaces, 
mosques,  and  temples  to  go  to  ruin.  Few  roads  are  built ;  the 
education  of  the  natives  is  little  cared  for ;  no  field  is  opened  to 
the  ambition  of  the  old  aristocracy  of  India ;  and  the  cumbersome 
forms  of  English  law,  not  congenial  to  the  Hindoo  and  Mussulman 
mind,  unsettle  the  moral  views  of  right  and  wrong  with  the  people. 
Comparing  the  late  Sir  Charles  Napier  with  Marshal  Bugeaud, 
the  Englishman  towers  far  above  the  Frenchman ;  still  the  un- 
scrupulous Frenchman  did  more  for  Algeria,  because  he  wielded 
a  discretionary  power,  than  the  able  and  straightforward  English- 
man could  do  for  India.  What  might  men  like  Sir  Charles 
Napier  achieve  in  the  Indian  empire,  were  their  energies  not 
fettered  by  the  short-sighted  routine  of  the  administration,  by  the 
mercantile  spirit  of  Leadenhall  Street,  and  the  narrow  views  of 
the  Board  of  Control ! 


-*• '.     Ill  iiiMUlW.,  .  . 

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